Al Pacino - Scent of a Woman

My latest in my series of Best Actor Winners

Year: 1992
Actor: Al Pacino
Film: Scent of a Woman
Director: Martin Brest
Role: Lt Col. Frank Slade

Other Nominees:
Robert Downey Jr. - Chaplin
Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven
Stephen Rea - The Crying Game
Denzel Washington - Malcolm X



Al Pacino one of the most beloved actor's of the 70's and 90's entered the 90's with out an Oscar to his name.  Other icons of the era Gene Hackman and Jack Nicholson had won their Oscars, while his Godfather co-stars Robert Duvall and Robert DeNiro has as well.  Pacino entered Oscar night nominated for two roles, as a blind lieutenant colonel in Scent of a Woman, and for his superior work in Glengarry Glen Ross.  In recent years his win for Scent of a Woman has been seen as one of the more egregious wins, and despite this not being one of his greatest roles the film has been unfairly maligned.  Yes, Pacino resorted to his now trademark screaming and Hoo-ha!

Yet, despite this somewhat strained performance the character actually works within the context of the movie.  Pacino plays him as more than a simple one-note character and the audience invests in his journey.  At first the character is seen simply as a jackass, but as the story continues he becomes far more understandable.  While some scenes are contrived (tango, car ride, the ending), Pacino gives enough energy into these scenes to buy it within the given context.  Other scenes such as the Thanksgiving dinner work very well with Pacino leading the way.  The Academy could have easily awarded this to Denzel Washington, Stephen Rea or Clint Eastwood (all gave better performances), but considering this is hardly the performance of a hack I can't totally be disappointed.

Other Wins:
Best Actor: Golden Globe Drama