SCENT OF A WOMAN!

Meet Lt. Col. Frank Slade, a highly decorated former aide to President Lyndon Johnson who blew out his eyesight during with a grenade juggling prank (with the pins out). His life is reduced to living in a garage apartment behind his Nieces home in Boston. In order to survive the embittered savage loneliness and severity of his disability, he adopts a modus operandi to hate everyone automatically. Imagine what lies waiting when Frank meets Charles (Chris O'Donnell), a student who was hired to be his caretaker over the Thanksgiving holiday. Charles is laid bare by Frank's dressing down interview--using the the "bastard down his throat" routine. Charlie has his own problems back on campus, where a student prank has left him on the verge of expulsion. Back to the Pacino character.

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He's blind, drinks two pints a day and is impossible to get along with. Charlie is a Boston prep school senior who is looking forward to going to university. To help pay for a trip home for Christmas, he agrees to take the job of looking after Frank thinking it would be easy money. He was wrong. The job, which begins as an onerous task performed principally for money, becomes a tour of self-discovery when Slade decides to make an unexpected visit to New York City. There, amidst all the holiday hoopla, the lieutenant's actions force Charlie into making an emotionally painful - and potentially physically dangerous - decision.

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There are a handful of actors still living that, when they appear in a film, almost invariably signal to the public at large that the production is of high quality. These include names like Nicholson, Hoffman, Hackman, Eastwood, Newman, Redford and Pacino. And despite what uptight snobs who review films say, I'll risk hyperbole and call this movie what it is. Pacino's "performance of a lifetime" in SCENT OF A WOMAN"!

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For two hours, it is through Charlie's eyes that this film unfolds. Pacino brings Frank Slade to life in a way that few others in Hollywood could. His character is far more complex than his bitter outlook on life and plenty of well-placed "hoo-ha"s. This is a bonding picture where each person has something unique to offer to the other. The emotional realism of the characters, especially Slade, is heartwrenchingly believable. His relationship with Charlie works because Pacino won't let it fail.

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To those of you who actually read this BLOG and loyally follow "Friday Movie Suggestion Night", I would be less than honest if I didn't share with you why I decided only yesterday to change what I originally had planned to feature. In this gift of a picture, Director/Producer Martin Brest knows how to blend humor with drama to perfection without resorting to cheap tricks. Having just watched "Dirty Dancing" last week, I couldn't get Pacino's "Tango scene" with Gabrielle Anwar out of my mind! It is a magical scene--that took Pacino and crew three days to film. The result is utterly enjoyable!

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The musical score from Thomas Newman is terrific. And while it's springtime, I'd like to invite you to just sit back with your favorite snacks and libations and just "enjoy" a Thanksgiving like no other in New York City. I asked myself, "Was this really filmed in 1992?" I couldn't believe it. To me it was more like yesterday! ,Directed by Martin Brest; Writing credits: Giovanni Arpino based on the 1975 Italian film, "Profumo Di Donna": Screenplay for that film by: Ruggero Maccari and Dino Risi; The 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.; Richard Venture....W.R. Slade; Bradley Whitford....Randy; Rochelle Oliver....Gretchen; Margaret Eginton....Gail; Tom Riis Farrell....Garry.

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Pacino was helped by a school for the blind in his preparation for this role. He said that he made himself appear blind by not allowing his eyes to focus on anything.

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So, with a wonderful edgy script, and a character who though retired, still lives the warrior's life, buckle up for a rollercoaster ride that will find it's way to your heart!

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ENJOY THE MOVIE, ALL!