‘Scent of a Woman’ is Difficult to Watch

I had heard of Scent of a Woman before, but I honestly had no idea what it was about. For some reason, I had it in my head that it was a mystery or thriller, but that is definitely not the case. Instead, this movie follows 17-year-old Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) as he babysits the crotchety blind man, Frank (Al Pacino), on an adventure to New York City over Thanksgiving break.

The highlight of this film for me was Al Pacino’s performance. He brought an incredibly complex character to life, and I felt conflicted about Frank at pretty much every turn. I loved his curt and gruff nature and his unwillingness to take any crap from any person. But his objectification of women was gross, and I was incredibly annoyed by his constant talk of finding escorts while on their adventure. Even still, there are moments of tenderness and even joy from this man who has endured so much. Pacino’s performance is what carried me through a movie that I otherwise would’ve clicked out of. I wanted to learn more about this truly insufferable man, and I enjoyed how the writing peeled back the layers of this character as the story unfolded.

Despite Pacino’s great and over-the-top performance, I wondered what the movie was trying to say. Telling the story of a troubled man changing his ways is a worthwhile one, but Scent of a Woman seemed to be trying to make a point about so many other things, but I’m not sure that any of them really landed for me.

Women are Important.

While watching, I was hyper-aware of Frank’s creepiness. I was uncomfortable just watching him interact with women. He goes up to women and smells them, accurately telling them what perfume they are wearing. Some women show some discomfort at this, but I was shocked that none of them push back against him. The film establishes that Frank is a smart man who is aware of his surroundings and the reactions of others, which makes him even more sinister and dangerous. I viewed him as a master manipulator who uses his age and blindness to get away with doing something that makes women feel uncomfortable.

Despite his inappropriate actions, Frank talks about how much he loves women. He talks about their value, yet all of his compliments and comments are superficial. He fantasizes about how they look and goes on a monologue for many minutes about the physical features he enjoys in a woman. He demeans his niece, Karen, who has taken him in, for her horrible cooking, and mocks the way they live. To Frank, women are important but only because of what they can give him.

While in New York City, Frank and Charlie meet a woman, Donna, who is waiting for her date to arrive. Frank smells her (gross), and Charlie confirms that she is beautiful, so they decide to join her at her table. She subtly tries to brush them off and is noticeably uncomfortable by their presence and proposition. Yet, because Frank is a master manipulator, he lingers long enough for her to give in. Despite his assertions to love women, he doesn’t respect their voice or their “no.”

Wounds of War are Real.

To me, it was obvious that Frank was suffering from mental illness when he went into the military, and his service certainly didn’t help matters. His blindness only exacerbated his already disturbed mind. I felt so bad for this deeply troubled man and wanted to get him some help, yet no one in this movie even seems to acknowledge this fact. They mention how he didn’t want to be placed in a home, but his behavior is more than that of an old, blind man.

Frank is of the generation of men who have to be tough and sweep their emotions under the rug, but that can only be done for so long. Despite his attempts to bury everything he’s struggling with and facing, they leak out in really horrible ways. In one truly uncomfortable scene, he crashes his family’s Thanksgiving, and we learn much more about who he is and what he has been through.

This scene did give me more sympathy for Frank, but it also made me wonder what can be done so that our nation can serve our veterans better. Men and Women return home with physical, mental, and emotional scars for their service to this country. Surely there’s more that can be done to help them reintegrate with their families and normal life again.

Justice can be Served.

I really struggled with Charlie’s storyline in this film because I found it to be just plain dumb. Mr. Trask (James Rebhorn), is the truly horrible headmaster of Baird, the prep school filled with rich, privileged children. A group of unruly and rich boys plays a prank on the insecure headmaster that could’ve been avoided if he knew how to take a joke or if the really wealthy school had invested in some covered parking.

Anyway… Charlie and a classmate saw who committed the egregious prank and are hauled into the headmaster’s office to be interrogated. When Trask’s attempts at bribing the truth from Charlie don’t work, he announces that there will be an assembly in front of the entire student body to discover the truth. This man stops all classes and activities to put these two boys on trial to pressure them into ratting out the pranksters. Talk about getting a well-rounded education! Clearly, they’re learning some great leadership skills here at Baird.

In the end, the school board hands down a “just” ruling with Charlie’s name cleared and his scholarship intact, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Sure, the privileged kids are punished, but there was nothing done to tackle the larger system of corruption within the school. The headmaster is publicly shamed, which I guess is something, but it doesn’t go any further than that. While I wouldn’t expect an entire system of white privilege to be toppled in one movie, I was just surprised at the lack of acknowledgment of the privilege at work. Frank rails against privilege throughout the film, but because I found him to be gross and manipulative, I really didn’t put much stock in anything he said. It’s possible that Scent of a Woman had more to say on privilege than I was able to take in because I simply didn't like the messenger.

While watching, I was painfully aware of the fact that this film was made almost 30 years ago. It’s amazing how much has changed over such a short period of time, even in the films that we create and consume. Some of the conversations we’re having today in public probably would’ve been thought of (or were at least taboo) when this film was made. This film reminds me that there’s value in looking back to see just how far we’ve come.

Scent of a Woman was awkward for me to watch, but it made me grateful for the rise of diverse voices in Hollywood that are shaping what we’re seeing on the screen today.