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Average User Score: 8 (35 sources)

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rockin01

-1

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There is a certain formulaic, predictable quality to certain films that dooms them; but sometimes, if that formula is executed with skill and flair, you don't mind. Scent of a Woman is an unabashedly sentimental coming-of-age-story wrapped in a...
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There is a certain formulaic, predictable quality to certain films that dooms them; but sometimes, if that formula is executed with skill and flair, you don't mind. Scent of a Woman is an unabashedly sentimental coming-of-age-story wrapped in a Lonely Loser character study- but, wow, what style is on display here!

Perfectly cast and superbly acted, this film offers Al Pacino at his proudly overacting best (I mean that in a good way) in a role that was made for him, and Chris O'Donnell ably portraying the tricky role of Charlie, which could have been cutesy in less capable hands. Surrender to the ample charms of this movie, and you will find yourself entertained when all is said and done.

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Posted apr 16, 2008 2:03 pm pt

mr-jones

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A moving tale of a retired and blind L. Colonel, who wants one last weekend of headonistic pleasure before ending his life. Based on an original Italian ('Profumo di donna') movie. Al Pacino is really on top form and playing a part that really...
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A moving tale of a retired and blind L. Colonel, who wants one last weekend of headonistic pleasure before ending his life. Based on an original Italian ('Profumo di donna') movie. Al Pacino is really on top form and playing a part that really extends an actor of his class. A bit sentimental and slightly long but overall a satisfying work.

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Posted oct 25, 2007 3:22 am pt

poetchick028

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I was very impressed by this movie. The plot line was excellent. An ex-colonel who lost his sight while in the service is looking for a way out of what he believes is a miserable existence, and he takes a prep school kid named Charlie along with...
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I was very impressed by this movie. The plot line was excellent. An ex-colonel who lost his sight while in the service is looking for a way out of what he believes is a miserable existence, and he takes a prep school kid named Charlie along with him for the ride. Not only does Colonel Slade learn something about himself and ultimately give life a second chance, Charlie Simms also learns something from this man. I was semi-impressed with Chris O'Donnell in this film as a supporting actor. This is undoubtedly the first of many films he would come to be in, and he did a good job of establishing himself. Some could argue that he needed to work on his emotions in this film, but I think his reaction to Slade pulling that gun from his bag was reflective of Charlie's personality. Props to all of the other actors in the film, without whom we would have never been shown the many shades of Colonel Slade.

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Posted sep 11, 2007 7:59 am pt

wawaweewa16

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Al pacino does some good acting in this however I don't think this is Al Pacino's best film

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Posted sep 8, 2007 11:16 am pt

chinadollM9

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This picture goes beyond brilliant! Pacino did a fantastic job, this temperament, emotion, courage, daringness, even the blindness. WOW!

This picture was talking about whether or not to rat on a fellow student. Many of us go through...
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This picture goes beyond brilliant! Pacino did a fantastic job, this temperament, emotion, courage, daringness, even the blindness. WOW!

This picture was talking about whether or not to rat on a fellow student. Many of us go through this--do we tell on them and lose their friendship or do we take the rap for them?

O'Donnell and Pacino, ya'll did a fantastic job, keep it up!

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Posted apr 20, 2007 12:53 am pt

FilipHolm

-1

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This movie is just brilliant! The story is great, and the acting is superb, especialy from Pacino, who won an oscar and a golden globe for this role. The movie allso has so many emotions in it, i allmost cried a couple of times... now that it...
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This movie is just brilliant! The story is great, and the acting is superb, especialy from Pacino, who won an oscar and a golden globe for this role. The movie allso has so many emotions in it, i allmost cried a couple of times... now that it said....hoo-haa!

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Posted apr 2, 2007 10:08 pm pt

CTUBauer24

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This is a great movie the story is one of the of the best ever this is one of my favorit movies of all time.

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Posted feb 16, 2007 4:05 pm pt

• [+] The New York Times
  
  80
  The good thing is that the principals and film makers make the absolute most of a conventional opportunity.

  by Elvis Mitchell | Read Full Review »
• [+] Los Angeles Times
  
  80
  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]

  by Peter Rainer | Read Full Review »
• [+] TV Guide
  
  75
  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.

  by Staff(not credited) | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Sun-Times
  
  75
  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.

  by Roger Ebert | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  75
  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.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] Entertainment Weekly
  
  75
  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.

  by Owen Gleiberman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Washington Post
  
  70
  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.

  by Hal Hinson | Read Full Review »
• [+] Washington Post
  
  60
  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.

  by Desson Thomson | Read Full Review »
• [+] The New Yorker
  
  60
  This is acting that chills the heart beyond any possibility of warming.

  by Terrence Rafferty | Read Full Review »
• [+] USA Today
  
  50
  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]

  by Mike Clark | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Reader
  
  50
  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.

  by Jonathan Rosenbaum | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  50
  There's no denying that Pacino's performance is superb. The rest of the movie plays like a bunch of inconsequentially strung together sequences.

  by Marjorie Baumgarten | Read Full Review »
• [+] Rolling Stone
  
  38
  The movie, however, is a crock.

  by Peter Travers | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
  
  38
  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.

  by Rick Groen | Read Full Review »