Lucas Versantvoort / December 3, 2014
Scent of a Woman, a film mostly remembered for two things: “Hoo-Ah”
and where Pacino finally got his Oscar. The film itself is quite well-made
however. Two lost souls, both with difficulties communicating with the people
around them, finding and helping each other sounds like the foundation for a
wonderful movie if done right. This film does it mostly right.
Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) is a prep
school student. He witnesses a prank on his school’s headmaster. He knows his
friends did it and the headmaster asks Charlie to divulge the names of those
responsible. If he does, he’ll get a free ticket into Harvard. Sounds like a
dilemma that will be solved by the film’s end. To pay for a trip to spend
Christmas time with his parents, he agrees to look after Frank, a blind,
retired Lt. Colonel. Once Frank’s family leaves, Frank reveals his plane is to
go to New York. Charlie panics, but doesn’t see any option but to go with the stubborn
Frank. Once there and they check into the Waldorf-Astoria, Frank reveals his
plan: to bask in certain luxurious pleasures before committing suicide.
Needless to say, the emerging relationship between Charlie and Frank will be
life-changing for both of them.
And therein lies the true appeal of
this film. Yes, it’s formulaic and predictable, but when done right, these
stories can still warm the heart. And this film does it mostly right. It
combines drama and humor in a balanced way that easily enables us to sympathize
with these characters: Charlie with his desire to get into Harvard and fear of
being called a snitch, Frank with his regrets in life regarding his family,
etc. The great acting by Pacino and O’Donnell also helps a great deal in lending
the (sometimes admittedly sappy) drama an air of credibility. Despite the
parodies that’ve surfaced online, make no mistake: this is a good film. There
are two things that hold it back however: the length and the ending. At 2,5
hours, this film is just way too long. The drama is too ‘thin’ to support such
a timespan and the film suffers for it. The ending is also a tad cringe-worthy.
It features a ‘trial’ at Charlie’s school where he’s compelled to give up the
identities of the pranksters (his friends). Frank, of course, makes an unexpected
appearance and has a big speech in which he defends Charlie and accuses the
system and Charlie’s friends. The disciplinary committee has seen the light and
excuse Charlie. The students present rejoice and all’s well that ends well. As
if that’s not enough, there’s also a suggestion of a future romance between
Frank and one of the teachers. If all this feels way too sappy, then you are a
master of understatement. While there’s a lot of truth in Frank’s Big Speech,
the lack of subtlety undermines the quality of the rest of the film. If this
and the overall length were altered, Scent
of a Woman would’ve been a truly great achievement.
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