Can you imagine a movie called "Scent of a Woman" with no women? Indeed, there is a pivotal sequence in the movie in which Al Pacino takes beautiful Gabrielle Anwar to the dance floor at the Waldorf Astoria for an impromptu tango performance, but other than that it is a movie about men. I enjoyed watching this movie even more because it reminded me so much of my days at the Birla Public School in Pilani.Retired (and blind) Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (played by Al Pacino for which he got the Oscar) is a man with a very complex and powerful personality. When his daughter hires Charlie Simms (played by Chris O'Donnell, who is a student from a poor family at a prep school in New Hampshire) to take care of him over the Thanksgiving weekend, he is in for a roller-coaster ride. Within moments of the daughter leaving for a family reunion, Slade and Simms are on a plane to New York City. Slade's plan: stay at the Waldorf Astoria, eat at the Oak Room, dance and make love to a beautiful woman, and then kill himself. Simms has to simply help Slade do all of this.
Simms is facing some of his own challenges at school. He has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing in which he is expected to confirm the identity of three pranksters.
The duo has a lot of adventures in the City and Slade does not kill himself. In fact, he comes back and defends Simms at the discliplinary hearing. His powerful speech was instrumental in Simms being acquitted.
It is indeed a beautiful movie and Al Pacino is at his very best. If you like good acting, or have attended a boarding school, this is one movie you shouldn't miss.