Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Scent of a Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Did Pacino smell an Oscar when he signed up for this film?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 4, 2012

Scent of a Woman is perhaps one of the more oddly named major feature films of the past couple of decades, but it could have been even odder: evidently scenarist Bo Goldman’s first draft was entitled Stench of a Woman. That would have really brought ticket buyers down to the multiplex in droves, don’t you think? But the unusual title is in fact a nice glyph for a rather unique film, one that recasts a typical “life lessons” approach in some unusual clothing (including military garb). Featuring one of Al Pacino’s most iconic performances (and the one that finally won him an Academy Award after several nominations), Scent of a Woman is a sort of dramedy featuring an Odd Couple pairing of Pacino’s character, Lt. Col. Frank Slade, an alcoholic, bitter and blind ex-vet who is intent on a path of self destruction, with a younger, more innocent but in his own way just as emotionally fragile character, Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell). Charlie is a scholarship student at a tony New England prep school named Baird, one of the few kids without untold riches or wealthy fathers who also attended Baird in years past. He has a sort of grudging friendship with several of these rich boys, boys who don’t make many bones about looking ever so slightly down on Charlie’s less than patrician background. Among these is George (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and one night when George shows up at the school library where Charlie works as a clerk, the two end up witnessing a prank in progress that will embarrass the school’s uptight headmaster, Mr. Trask (James Rebhorn). Trask discovers that George and Charlie probably saw the culprits who committed the prank and threatens them both with expulsion if they don’t spill the beans about who did it. He offers Charlie a little bonus motivating factor: if Charlie squeals, Trask will personally recommend him for a scholarship at Harvard, something which will more or less guarantee him admittance there. Trask gives the boys the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend break time to think it all over, and in the meantime Charlie has agreed to “babysit” Col. Slade for the weekend in order to raise enough cash to fly home to Oregon for Christmas.

Frank lives in what amounts to little more than a shed out behind his niece’s home, and his family dynamic is what you might charitably call dysfunctional. His niece and her family are driving to Albany for Thanksgiving and because Frank has lost his sight, they hire Charlie to look after the demanding and irascible Colonel, with the promise that Slade’s “bark is worse than his bite” and that it will be an easy way to earn $300. Almost instantly upon the niece and her family departing, however, Frank reveals he has other plans for the weekend than just sitting around and getting (and/or staying) drunk: he has arranged a lavish trip to New York City, and Charlie is along for the ride.

The bulk of the film plays out in New York, where Frank has gotten the pair a deluxe suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Frank has his ducks in a row, so to speak, and has a weekend full of activities planned, which include dining at an upscale restaurant called The Oak Room and (just for good measure) hiring an “escort” for an evening so that Frank can indulge in his favorite pastime, luxuriating in the arms (and smell) of a beautiful woman. Charlie is aghast at quite a few of these shenanigans, but basically feels helpless to do anything about it. Once Frank reveals his real reason for coming to New York, however, Charlie is a good deal more desperate and begins to attempt to forge more of a relationship with the hard to like (or even tolerate) Colonel in an attempt to forestall what might be an impending tragedy.

Frank’s brusque manner never really relents, though there are the merest hints of vulnerability under his extremely curmudgeonly exterior. Things really get bad, though, when Frank springs yet another surprise on Charlie, namely that the two are going to show up unannounced at Frank’s older brother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. That sets what might be considered one of two emotional climaxes Scent of a Woman has into motion, as one of Frank’s nephews (played by Bradley Whitford) lets loose with some vicious invective, lambasting Frank for his undeniable failings.

Scent of a Woman is a fascinating character study, probably more so than the barest outlines of the plot might indicate, if only because Frank himself is so completely unique. Pacino has a field day vacillating between Frank’s manic depressive qualities. In one moment, Frank is full of bravado, belting out his mantra “Hoo-yah!” with virile ebullience, and the next moment he’s a seething mass of anger and martyrdom. Pacino traverses this treacherous emotional territory with incredible facility and it’s his performance that is really the most remarkable thing about the film.

There are two great set pieces that also work in the film’s favor. One involves Frank’s spontaneous recruitment of a female restaurant patron (played by a stunningly beautiful Gabrielle Anwar) to dance a tango with him. The other involves Frank taking the wheel (yes, indeed, a blind man driving) of an ultra-expensive Ferrari, leading to one of the scary-funniest sequences in the entire film. What’s interesting about Scent of a Woman is how precariously it manages to stay perched between melodrama and gentle humor, and the minor miracle of the piece is that it does stay perched there, at least for the bulk of the film.

Still, the film isn’t perfect. While some have derided it for being too long (it clocks in at over two and a half hours), it really isn’t the length of the film that hampers it as much as its kind of second rate Frank Capra-esque denouement, when the Colonel turns up to defend Charlie at an inquest of sorts Blair School undertakes to uncover who the culprits were that humiliated Trask. While the sequence is obviously a crowd pleaser due to Frank’s rabble rousing speech, it’s also deliriously over the top, with a bit too much poetry for such an earthy character, and as such it just reeks of a theatricality that undermines the film’s worthwhile message.

Otherwise, though, Scent of a Woman is, well, a breath of fresh air (and/or perfume) in a world filled with cookie cutter film projects. Both Frank and Charlie are wonderful characters, and Pacino and O’Donnell make an extremely memorable duo. If the film is a little heavy handed delivering its message, that’s a fair enough price to pay for having the pleasure of seeing Pacino create such a brilliantly idiosyncratic character.

Scent of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scent of a Woman is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios with a VC-1 encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. As with the simultaneously released Pacino film Sea of Love, my hunch is this is simply a port over of Scent of a Woman's previous HD-DVD transfer, but unlike that earlier film, the results here are, if not totally spectacular, a good deal better than they were with Sea of Love. The image here is quite nicely crisp and colors are especially impressive, with deep, natural looking flesh tones and some excellent depth of field in the many outdoor location shots. Fine object detail is very pleasing, especially in close-ups. Contrast is excellent and black levels, if not as deep as might be desired, are consistent. There are persistent aliasing and moiré issues on the Blair School tweed jackets, as well as the suit that Pacino's Frank character has made for him partway through the film, but otherwise artifacting is at a minimum.

Scent of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scent of a Woman features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that may not have a lot of "wow" factor, but which offers substantial, albeit at times quite subtle, surround activity, as well as excellent fidelity and dynamic range. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented, but perhaps the best element of this new lossless audio mix is the wonderful rendering of Thomas Newman's really interesting score. Newman, one of the (Alfred) Newman composing dynasty, fills his music with some really unusual colors, including the completely unexpected use of a hammered dulcimer (!) to underscore the Blair sequences. The music spills through the surrounds with really appealing spaciousness and adds immeasurably to the sonic impact of the film. Otherwise, this tends to be a quieter, dialogue driven piece, although in sequences like the Ferrari driving segment we get some low end oomph and very distinct panning effects that substantially open up the sound field.

Scent of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Perhaps surprisingly, there are no supplements on this Blu-ray, other than some little "instructional" videos on how to utilize various features of the Blu-ray like Universal's UHear.

Scent of a Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scent of a Woman is a little too preachy for its own good, but otherwise this is a really fun and entertaining (if occasionally disturbing) picture that features one of Al Pacino's most meticulously modulated performances. The supporting cast is wonderful, too, if not quite so incredibly memorable as Pacino is. Director Martin Brest keeps things moving at a good pace, even with the film clocking in at over two and half hours, and though the third act is a bit too pat, the journey up to that point is largely flawless. This Blu-ray offers excellent video and audio, though it is sadly lacking in any supplements. Recommended.