“Scent of A Woman” (directed by Martin Brest, 1992)

    As a director, Martin Brest is known for directing the comedies “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984) and “Midnight Run” (1988). These films were very popular to members of the public. Then, he made the drama “Scent of A Woman”. This film is a departure from the work that Brest is known for because the film is fairly serious. However, it is a coming-of-age story that a person could identify with. The film is about a boy named Charlie (portrayed by Chris O’Donnell) who is caught in the act of a prank that he played on the headmaster of his school. At the same time, he is hired to take care of blind retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (portrayed by Al Pacino), who helps guide him to making the right choice despite that fact that he himself is battling his own demons.
    The acting performances in this film are perfect. The man who steals the show is obviously Al Pacino. We all know Pacino for his performances in “The Godfather”, “Dog Day Afternoon”, “...And Justice For All”, “Scarface”, and “Dick Tracey”, but in this film, Pacino gives one of the best performances of his whole career. His portrayal of Frank Slade makes you want to hate him so much, but by the end makes you want to love him despite the fact that he is acting like a jerk for most of the time. Another feature that Pacino does well with in this film is his portrayal of blindness, which is fairly difficult for an actor to do, but he makes it look fairly easy. Chris O’Donnell gives a strong performance as well. His performance is not as amazing as Pacino’s, but he manages to take his own while he invests in Charlie’s character and his own situation. The rest of the cast, which features the talents of James Rebhorn, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Gabriel Anwar, are able to give something special to their roles in a very special film.
    “Scent of A Woman” has many unforgettable moments. From Pacino dancing the tango with Gabriel Anwar and driving a Ferrari (which he both does blind) to his ending speech, there are scenes that you can remember so well. There are several quotable lines, most of which come from Pacino including his classic “Who-ah!” While there are some pretty serious moments in the film, there is always a few laughs, which never hurts.
    What makes this film special is that this is a coming-of-age story. We learn things from these movies and they make us feel good about life. We can also look at the characters and say, “Hey, I can identify myself with that character” or “I see a lot of myself in him or her.” There are situations where we can look at them and say, “That has happened to me before.” These kinds of films can make us feel good or bad about ourselves. It depends on how we think of ourselves and of these kinds of films. So the next time you see a coming-of-age film, please treat it with care because these are special stories that almost everyone can identify with. In the end, “Scent of A Woman” will make you feel good about yourself.