(Credits: Netflix)

You know those movies that sound boring when someone describes them, but then you start watching and realise they are actually amazing? That’s Scent of a Woman. This movie is a visual representation of don’t judge a book by its cover.

You think you’re walking into a slow, old-school drama about some cranky ex-army guy and a shy student, but by the time Al Pacino yells “Hoo-ah!”, you get hooked like you’re hooked onto a strong branch after you’ve fallen from the hilltop.

If your Monday night mood is somewhere between wanting comfort and wanting to feel something, this film hits that middle perfectly. It’s not loud or chaotic. Just an honest and confident piece of cinema. And you can’t help but respect a film that doesn’t need car chases or fake twists to keep you hooked for two and a half hours.

So here’s the setup: Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) is a polite prep-school kid who ends up babysitting a blind, retired Army colonel named Frank Slade (Al Pacino). Frank is rude, unpredictable, and drinks like it’s a sport. You think it’s going to be a simple “student learns life lessons from a grumpy old man” thing, but no. It’s way deeper and funnier than that.

Pacino doesn’t play Frank; he becomes him (like he usually does for most of his roles). Every line he says feels like it’s been said before by someone real. And somewhere between all that yelling and drinking, the film becomes a piece of art about dignity, redemption, and living with a bit of madness.

Now, if you are wondering why this is the ultimate Monday movie and not, say, a gloomy Sunday one, it is because it makes you feel alive again after a tiring week. Frank is the kind of man who, despite being blind, refuses to be ignored. He dresses up, eats well, flirts with waitresses, and teaches Charlie (and you) how to tango like life depends on it. That iconic tango scene? It’s cinematic gold. Who cares how many times you’ve seen it clipped on YouTube? You know it hits different when you watch it in context. It’s the scene which makes the movie the classic that it is.

And then there’s the speech. If you know, you know. The final courtroom scene where Frank defends Charlie? Goosebumps. Literal goosebumps. That monologue reminds us why people call Pacino a legend.

It’s also a film about standing up for yourself without turning into a cynic. About how kindness doesn’t make you weak, and pain doesn’t make you wise unless you do something with it. Pretty heavy stuff, but the film never drags it. It smoothly lands all of it with laughs, it flirts, and mesmerising dances. Isn’t that everything you want from a cold Monday night?

So yes, skip the algorithm-approved “Top 10 thrillers you missed” and watch this instead. Let Pacino yell at you, let the tango soundtrack hum in the background, and let a ’90s film remind you what real character writing looks like. Because Scent of a Woman doesn’t just smell like a good movie… it smells like cinema.