Plot
A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
Release Year: 1992
Rating: 7.8/10 (84,372 voted)
Critic's Score: 59/100
Director:
Martin Brest
Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn
Storyline Frank is a retired Lt Col in the US army. He's blind and impossible to get along with. Charlie is at school and is looking forward to going to university; to help pay for a trip home for Christmas, he agrees to look after Frank over thanksgiving. Frank's niece says this will be easy money, but she didn't reckon on Frank spending his thanksgiving in New York.
Writers: Giovanni Arpino, Bo Goldman
Cast: Al Pacino
-
Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade
Chris O'Donnell
-
Charlie Simms
James Rebhorn
-
Mr. Trask
Gabrielle Anwar
-
Donna
Philip Seymour Hoffman
-
George Willis, Jr.
(as Philip S. Hoffman)
Richard Venture
-
W.R. Slade
Bradley Whitford
-
Randy
Rochelle Oliver
-
Gretchen
Margaret Eginton
-
Gail
Tom Riis Farrell
-
Garry
Nicholas Sadler
-
Harry Havemeyer
Todd Louiso
-
Trent Potter
Matt Smith
-
Jimmy Jameson
Gene Canfield
-
Manny
Frances Conroy
-
Christine Downes
Taglines:
Col. Frank Slade has a very special plan for the weekend. It involves travel, women, good food, fine wine, the tango, chauffeured limousines and a loaded forty-five. And he's bringing Charlie along for the ride.
Release Date: 23 December 1992
Filming Locations: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Opening Weekend: $357,468
(USA)
(23 December 1992)
(20 Screens)
Gross: $63,895,607
(USA)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Director Martin Brest disowned the version of the film shown on airlines and television.
Goofs:
Continuity:
In the scene where Slade directs Charlie to get his dress blues from his closet, there is no Silver Star ribbon on the jacket. In all the later scenes with the dress blues there is a Silver Star ribbon.
Quotes: Lt. Col. Frank Slade:
Uh-oh, we got a moron here.
User Review
Character over glamour
Rating:
The Scent of a Woman is the kind of film that many would think belongs to
a
bygone era. While it is frank and contemporary without sugar coating it
illustrates the value of character over glitz and how small acts can have
long lasting consequences.
The film pits two characters who are diametrical opposites. Al Pacino
plays
the world weary retired Army Lt. Colonel who through a stupid accident
looses his sight and his way of life. Chris Donnelly is a young prep
school
kid on a scholarship whose way of life may be coming to an end owing to
the
acts of richer kids at the exclusive prep school who pull a stupid
stunt.
The blind Lt. Colonel needs an escort so that he can go to NYC and have a
rip roaring time before he makes a fateful decision. The poor preppy
needs
to earn a few bucks to travel and is in desperate need of some advice on
how
to get through his crisis at school.
The interplay between the two characters is mind boggling. It is more
riveting than the best Grisham novel.
Both characters are asked to make life and death decisions that call for
them to reach deep into their inner core. The right decision is unhappily
the tougher decision to make.
Two terrific scenes that are not to be missed. The first is in the New
York
ballroom where the blind Lt. Colonel teaches the actress Miss Anwar to
dance
the tango. It is so smooth and dramatic that even a couch potato is
tempted
to reach for the Yellow Pages in search of dance lessons. The second and
most profound is the speech that Al Pacino makes in defense of Chris
Donnelly at the prep school disciplinary hearing. It has to go down as
one
of the great orations of all times.
The Scent of a Woman is very satisfying on many levels. The character
development is superb, dialogue terrific, glamorous locations and a story
line that requires the characters to show themselves to be the people they
really are. The film has a lot of funny lines and great drama. This film
is almost a 10 out of 10.
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