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Scent of a Woman
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 14 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Bo Goldman
Ruggero Maccari (character from Profumo Di Donna)
Dino Risi (character from Profumo Di Donna)
Giovanni Arpino (novel Il Buio E Il Miele)
Directed by: Martin Brest
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 23, 1992
DVD: February 8, 2005
Running Time: 157 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R
Starring Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Venture, Bradley Whitford, and Rochelle Oliver
Al Pacino won his first Best Actor Oscar for his brilliant portrayal of an overbearing, blind retired Lieutenant Colonel who hires a young guardian (O'Donnell), to assist him. It's a heart-wrenching and heartwarming tale of opposites attracting when they embark on a wild weekend trip that will change the lives of both men forever. (Universal)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Gigli Meet Joe Black Midnight Run
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
The good thing is that the principals and film makers make the absolute most of a conventional opportunity.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Peter Rainer
But it's essentially a tour de force for Pacino, and he sustains us through the slow passages by working with a closed-in intensity that turns each scene into a kind of mini-movie complete with its own ticking time bomb. [23Dec1992 Pg. 1]
TV Guide Staff(not credited)
Thanks to a landmark performance by Al Pacino, SCENT OF A WOMAN is an agreeably watchable film. If they'd made it half an hour shorter and re-written the ending, it could have been a great one.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
By the end of Scent of a Woman, we have arrived at the usual conclusion of the coming-of-age movie, and the usual conclusion of the prep school movie. But rarely have we been taken there with so much intelligence and skill.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
If there's anything special about the film, it's that on this occasion, the emotional realism of the characters, especially Slade, is heartwrenchingly believable.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
In the end, Scent of a Woman offers little more than lumbering simulation of Rain Man's nimble magic. But Pacino's performance-scabrous, tender, ripely theatrical-is a master showman's trick.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Hal Hinson
This is a great performance from Pacino, who has the good luck here to work with Goldman's mostly wonderful, edgy script, but it might not become a beloved one because the man he plays is such a bitter pill.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
In the end, however, when all Pacino's demons are bared, they don't add up to the poignant punchline you were set up for. The movie seems to have two or three finales too many -- a disturbing trend in all too many films of late.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Terrence Rafferty
This is acting that chills the heart beyond any possibility of warming.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
A 2 1/2-hour movie with halves that don't quite mesh, it still gives Al Pacino a role that's a perfect fit. [23 Dec 1992 Pg. 01.D]
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Given the talent on board, there's an undeniable flair and effectiveness in certain scenes (such as Pacino dancing the tango with a stranger in a posh restaurant), but the meretricious calculation finally sticks in one's throat.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
There's no denying that Pacino's performance is superb. The rest of the movie plays like a bunch of inconsequentially strung together sequences.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Instead, you get a nominal character study that boasts a single mighty performance and one nifty scene; alas, both performance and scene exist in a narrative vacuum - the plot is non-existent and the pace makes the ice age seem hasty.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mark G. gave it an8:
A fine film, if overly drawn out. Its central drawing point is the great acting masterclass given by Mr. Pacino. He really brings a life and charisma to the Lt. Col. that i find hard to imagine other actors capable of replicating. Chris O Donnell for once appears not to be made out of mahogony, and give a restrained, yet powerful performance as the young student who acts as Pacino's carer. The set pieces are fabulous fun to watch, and include such memorable episodes as the blind Pacino driving a ferrari through the traffic filled streets. Overall, a very enjoyable, and well directed movie.
Parker G. gave it an8:
An unexpected treasure found on the shelf of my own DVD collection. I had purchased the movie many months ago based on the Academy Award to best actor. I had no idea what to expect and was completely enraptured with the journey the movie took me on. A wonderful movie. Don't analyze, just enjoy.
