Al Pacino deserved his Oscar for this role. Right on this page is a link to an article about Oscars that were "mistakes"and that includes this one. I just saw this again for the first time since I saw it in the theatre in 1992. It still moved me. This was not a sympathy Oscar. It was fully deserved. Pacino was brilliant and I am so fed up when I come across this kind of reassessment which implies that the entire Academy voted in some temporary trance. No. I am so tired of people saying this movie is only known for the "hu-ah." Hardly. How about actually watching it to the end. It's about morality and the human spirit. A blind, broken vet finding a common humanity and bonding with a young student who is hired to look after him. They both have something vital to offer to each other through the course of the few days they spend together. No, it's not a shoot-em-up western or a violent mafia bloodbath or a sci-fi CGI blockbuster. It's an old style human drama and you can't help loving the characters. If nothing else will make you want to watch it, you might enjoy seeing the very young Todd Louiso (High Fidelity) and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Review of Scent of a Woman
Scent of a Woman
(1992)
Unfairly downgraded with the passing of time. It still holds up.
17 March 2017