Scent of a Woman (1992 film)

Scent of a Woman is a 1992 American drama film produced and directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a short-term job near Thanksgiving as a companion/assistant to a retired Army lieutenant colonel who is blind, depressed, and irritable.

The film was adapted by Bo Goldman from the Italian novel Il buio e il miele (Darkness and Honey) by Giovanni Arpino. This was previously adapted by Dino Risi for his 1974 Italian film Profumo di donna.

The American film stars Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell, with James Rebhorn, Philip Seymour Hoffman (credited as Philip S. Hoffman), Gabrielle Anwar, and Bradley Whitford in supporting roles.

The film was shot primarily around New York state, and also on location at Princeton University. Scenes were shot at the Emma Willard School, an all-girls school in Troy, New York; and at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and the Fieldston School in New York City.

The film had a limited theatrical release on December 23, 1992, expanding nationwide on January 8, 1993. It received generally positive responses from critics and was a box office success. Pacino won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. The film was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

The film won three Golden Globe Awards, for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Motion Picture – Drama.

Plot
Charlie Simms is a scholarship student at Baird, an exclusive New England preparatory school. A woman hires him to watch over her uncle, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, over Thanksgiving weekend. Charlie accepts so he can buy a plane ticket home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas. He discovers Frank to be a highly decorated, blind Vietnam War veteran who has become an alcoholic.

Charlie and another student, George Willis, Jr., witness three classmates set up a prank to humiliate the headmaster, Mr. Trask. Afterward, Trask learns of the two witnesses and unsuccessfully presses them to name the perpetrators. He privately threatens Charlie with withdrawing the recommendation he has already made that Charlie be accepted by Harvard University. Trask sets a meeting of the school disciplinary committee to take place the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Frank Slade unexpectedly takes Charlie on a trip to New York City, and arranges their stay at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. During dinner in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel, Frank reveals that the goals of his trip are to stay at a luxurious hotel, enjoy good food and wine, visit his older brother, and have sex with a "terrific" woman. Afterward he intends to commit suicide.

On Thanksgiving Day they pay an uninvited visit to Frank's brother at his home in White Plains. Frank rudely and deliberately provokes everyone at dinner, which ends up in a confrontation with his nephew Randy, who reveals that Frank was not blinded heroically in combat but showing off juggling live grenades for a group of younger officers.

As the pair return to New York City, Charlie mentions his problem at school. Frank advises Charlie to turn informant and take advantage to go to Harvard. He warns that George will probably submit to Trask's pressure, so Charlie should act first and get the benefit. While at a restaurant, Frank notices the scent of a young woman waiting for her date. He introduces himself and offers to teach her the tango.The evening ends after Frank visits with a high-class escort, completing the stated objectives of his trip.

Deeply despondent the next morning, Frank is uninterested in Charlie's suggestions for that day until Charlie suggests going for a ride. A former Ferrari owner, Frank talks the reluctant salesman into letting them take a convertible for a test ride. Once on the road, Frank becomes depressed again, until Charlie allows him to drive. Using Charlie’s eyes and commands to guide him, Frank is elated until he is pulled over by a policeman. Frank talks the officer into letting them go without revealing that he is blind.

After returning the car, Frank again becomes despondent. He jaywalks into rushing traffic on Park Avenue, and narrowly avoids being struck by multiple cars. When they return to the hotel, Frank sends Charlie to buy cigars. Charlie leaves but becomes suspicious and returns to find Frank donning his dress uniform, preparing to commit suicide with his service pistol. Frank backs down after Charlie convinces him that he has much to live for and should face his circumstances courageously.

On Monday morning, Charlie and George are subjected to a formal inquiry by the Baird disciplinary committee in front of the entire student body. Frank unexpectedly arrives and sits with Charlie. George's father counsels George to dissemble yet identify the perpetrators. George, Jr., provides tentative identifications but claims he was not wearing his contact lenses, and shifts confirming them to Charlie.

Charlie refuses to do so, resulting in Trask recommending his expulsion. Frank gives a speech defending Charlie, and obliquely mentions a bribe attempt. He denounces Baird for not living up to its own standards and urges the committee to value Charlie's integrity. The disciplinary committee places the instigators on probation, denies George credit for naming them, and excuses Charlie from the proceedings.

As Charlie escorts Frank to his limousine, political science professor Christine Downes, a member of the disciplinary committee, commends Frank for his speech. Frank flirts with her, and, as with his come-on to Donna, the girl he tangoed with, he impresses Christine by telling her the name of her perfume. She is clearly intrigued. Charlie accompanies Frank home, where Frank happily greets his niece's children.

Production
The remake rights to Dino Risi's Profumo di donna were purchased by Ovidio G. Assonitis and first slated for presale by Ronald DeNeef's Rainbow International at MIFED in October 1988, alongside Assonitis' Beyond the Door III and Midnight Ride (then called Nowhere to Run). When Assonitis became Chairman of Cannon Pictures Inc. in 1989, he announced that his films currently in development and production, including the remake of Scent of a Woman, would be made and released under the Cannon banner. By May 1990, Cannon Pictures had entered into an agreement with Universal Pictures to produce the film. in 1991, Bo Goldman was hired to write the screenplay. He later said, "If there is a moral to the film, it is that if we leave ourselves open and available to the surprising contradictions in life, we will find the strength to go on." Martin Brest was approached to direct the film in April 1991, and chose this film over another potential remake he was presented with, a remake of Death Takes a Holiday (which was later made and released by Universal as Meet Joe Black starring Brad Pitt, Claire Forlani and Anthony Hopkins.) By early August, Brest had officially signed on and Al Pacino was being sought for the lead. Pacino officially signed on the following month.

Casting
Such rising young actors as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Brendan Fraser, Anthony Rapp, Randall Batinkoff, Dante Basco, Chris Rock, and Stephen Dorff were auditioned for the role of Charlie Simms  before Chris O'Donnell was cast in November 1991. Jack Nicholson was offered the role of Lt. Col. Frank Slade but turned it down.

Research
Pacino painstakingly researched his part in Scent of a Woman. To understand what it feels like to be blind, he met clients of New York's Associated Blind, being particularly interested in accounts by those who had lost their sight due to trauma. Clients traced the entire progression for him—from the moment they knew they would never see again to the depression and through to acceptance and adjustment. The Lighthouse, an advocacy group for the blind also in New York, schooled him in techniques a vision impaired person might use to find a chair and seat themselves, pour liquid from a bottle, and light a cigar.

Filming
Production on Scent of a Woman began on December 3, 1991 in New York City and ran until April 1992. It was filmed in the following US locations.
 * Brooklyn, New York City
 * Dumbo neighborhood, Brooklyn, New York City
 * Emma Willard School, 285 Pawling Avenue, Troy, New York
 * Hempstead House, Sands Point Preserve, 95 Middleneck Road, Port Washington, Long Island, New York
 * Long Island, New York
 * Manhattan, New York City
 * Meeting House for the New York Society of Ethical Culture, Alder Hall, 2 W 64th St, New York, NY (Frank's speech defending Charlie)
 * Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey
 * The Oak Room, The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue at 59th Street, Manhattan, New York City (where Frank and Charlie have dinner)
 * Pierre Hotel, Fifth Avenue & 61st Street, Manhattan, New York City, Cotillion Ballroom (where Frank and Donna dance the tango)
 * Port Washington, Long Island, New York
 * Prince's Bay, Staten Island, New York City
 * Princeton, New Jersey
 * Queens, New York City
 * Rockefeller College—Upper Madison Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (scene at the Baird library)
 * Staten Island, New York City
 * Troy, New York
 * Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, 301 Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City (Frank's hotel)

Music
The tango Frank and Donna dance to is "Por una Cabeza".

Box office
The film opened at number 20 at the US Box Office. It would go on to earn $63,095,253 in the US and Canada and over $71 million internationally (excluding Italy), totaling $134,095,253 worldwide.

Critical response


Some criticized the film for its length. Variety's Todd McCarthy said it "goes on nearly an hour too long". Newsweek's David Ansen writes that the "two-character conceit doesn't warrant a two-and-a-half-hour running time".

As of 2020, the film holds an 85% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes from 48 reviews. The site's consensus states: "It might soar on Al Pacino's performance more than the drama itself, but what a performance it is – big, bold, occasionally over-the-top, and finally giving the Academy pause to award the star his first Oscar." The film holds a score of 59 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "mixed reviews".

Accolades
Al Pacino won an Academy Award for Best Actor, the first of his career after four previous nominations for Best Actor. It was his eighth overall nomination. Ovidio G. Assonitis, who had originated the project and chose to go uncredited on the final cut of the film, took out a full page advert in Variety congratulating Tom Pollock, Universal Pictures and Martin Brest for making the adaptation successful and praising Pacino on his Oscar win.