30 years later, does the ‘hoo-ah’ of Al Pacino’s Oscar win for ‘Scent of a Woman’ still smell as sweet? [Retrospective]

I fell in love with Oscarwatching in the 90s – which was a magical time for me in regard to cinema. I began to cultivate a taste in film that, honestly, stands true today. I was a teenager, living in a small town, doing everything I could to see as many Oscar nominated films as possible. Long before the multitude of Oscar websites, many of us, particularly those with no access to trades like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter relied greatly on our subscriptions to Entertainment Weekly, Siskel and Ebert and even the E! network.

One weekend in 1990 near the holidays, I was stuck at my Grandmother’s house and had E! playing on her television nonstop. On repeat was a segment on the upcoming release of The Godfather Part III. I was 14 and had never seen either of The Godfather movies. Having not yet seen this third film, I became wrapped up in the romantic notion of the film’s Oscar story. This was the third film in a trilogy, its predecessors having both won Best Picture – and its star, Al Pacino, had never won an Oscar.

When the reviews came out, I don’t remember them being quite as damming as people consider them today, but there wasn’t a guarantee it would get a Best Picture nomination. It did. However, Pacino did not even get a nomination, much less a win. I was heartbroken for him. I was still learning about acting, soon to study myself, and hearing people say, even back then, that Pacino’s style had been reduced (or perhaps, enlarged) to bombasity and yelling, didn’t seem fair.

1992 was the first year I really had a dog in the Oscar race. I was a sophomore in high school, devouring every issue of EW. I wanted more than anything for The Crying Game to sweep the awards, and yet I was faced with a conundrum that would come up for years and years to come. A new up and coming actor (Stephen Rea, in The Crying Game) facing an overdue one, in this case, Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.

Scent of a Woman is a buddy picture of sorts, directed by Martin Brest, a remake of Dino Risi‘s 1974 Italian film Profumo di donna, adapted by Bo Goldman from the novel Il buio e il miele. It stars Pacino as blind Army Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade and a young Chris O’Connell as Charlie, a scholarship student at the prestigious Baird school. Charlie is in need of money and Frank’s family is in need of someone to take care of Frank over the Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to Charlie’s financial woes he has also witnessed (with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s George Jr.) three privileged students damage the headmaster’s new gift given automobile. Charlie is faced with a dilemma and a bribe from the headmaster – admit what he saw and perhaps get an invitation to Harvard or stay mum and be expelled.

I had honestly forgotten most of the plot over 20 years. I did remember that it was a twofer led by O’Donnell and Pacino. I remembered the exquisite tango scene with Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar and remembered the final scene with Frank standing in for Charlie’s parents at the school hearing, cementing that Oscar nom with his speech on the amputated spirit, courage and integrity. What I forgot about was what I actually found the most interesting in this recent viewing. Frank coerces Charlie to accompany him to NYC for a final “hoo-ah,” because in the end, Frank plans to take his own life.

One thing to note is the fact that Scent of a Woman is almost three hours. Sure, we have long movies today – TÁR and Drive My Car come to mind, but this is a box office, people pleasing popular film. Some critics at the time commented negatively on the runtime, but I feel that it allows us to see these really wonderful vignettes – test driving the fancy car, Frank desperately crossing the street with abandon and hopelessness – that say so much about these characters.

We also get a Thanksgiving dinner scene that shows Pacino doing the remarkable as an actor. As his nephew Randy (played by Bradley Whitford) takes verbal shots at his Uncle, we see Frank not only diminish into his depression, letting us know that this suicide threat is indeed real, but also become enraged enough to revert back to his training with a frightening switch into violence.

The film truly peaks once the time has come for Frank to make good on his promise. Frank is able to temporarily get rid of Charlie long enough to dress in his military attire and prepare his gun, when Charlie realizes what is going to happen and returns to their hotel room. What follows is an absolutely incredible scene. It’s long, it’s wonderfully acted, and it’s the culmination of this relationship we have seen build over 2 hours. Pacino brings us and O’Donnell to tears as he screams, “What life? I’m in the dark!” The scene continues, a bit uncomfortably, taking the time to get us where the characters need to be for the final act. In real life, would Charlie’s words have been enough to stop Frank? I’m not sure. I’m not ever sure Frank does live till the end of his natural life. Jumping ahead to the very end of the film, I wonder, if the film was made today, would Brest have chosen ambiguity in regard to Frank’s true fate. Instead we get uplifting Thomas Newman music and a great big smile from Charlie.

When looking at the penultimate scene at the school, it’s best not to dig too deeply into the believability of the disciplinary committee’s forgiveness of Charlie or the students’ uproariously positive response to Charlie’s freedom from expulsion or even the fact that Frank was able to go on and on as he did. It’s best to enjoy Pacino’s speech and the fruits of the relationship we’ve seen grow since the start of the film.

Pacino did indeed finally win his first, and to date, only Oscar for Scent of a Woman. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Adapted Screenplay. Looking back I really miss this type of Best Picture lineup. You have your independent dark horse (The Crying Game), your box office hit (A Few Good Men), Merchant Ivory (Howards End), and your frontrunner (Unforgiven). And then there is the 5^th slot. Remember the 5^th slot? That belonged to Scent of a Woman.

Pacino created a role that is big, bold, funny and completely captivating. He weaves in and out of different aspects of the character, and no matter how big he goes there is always a layer of vulnerability. It’s an Oscar-y role, no doubt, and one absolutely deserving of its win.

Universal Pictures released Scent of a Woman in select theaters on December 23, 1992 with a wider release on January 8, 1993. It is currently available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.

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Brian Whisenant

Brian Whisenant is a writer, actor and filmmaker living in Los Angeles. Brian loves movies and television and has been completely obsessed with the Oscars since he was 11, when he watched Cher win Best Actress for Moonstruck.

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