Sunday Matinee #55 Scent of a Woman

It's more than just dads imitating Al Pacino saying, "Hoo-ah!"

Mark 1:21-28 | Revised Common Lectionary | EnterTheBible.org
Fourth Sunday of Epiphany | 01.28.2024
Context: Mark keeps dashing along. Only 21 verses in and Jesus was baptized, tempted, and called his disciples. Now, he has his first public ministry: healing a person of his demons.

23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed…

Scent of a Woman | 1992
IMDb | Letterboxd | RRMC
Context: Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Al Pacino, in an Oscar-winning role) has designed a final weekend for his life consisting of wining, dining, and ending his life. His hired caretaker, a young prep student named Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) tries convincing him not to do it, then dares him to kill him, too. Slade can’t do it.

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Get outta here!
Charlie Simms: I'm staying right here.
Lt. Col. Frank Slade: I'll blow your fuckin' head off.
Charlie Simms: Then do it! You wanna do it?! Do it. Let's go!
Lt. Col. Frank Slade: [Frank pulls the hammer on the gun back] Fuck! Get outta here!!!
Charlie Simms: So you fucked up all right? So what? So everybody does it. Get on with your life would ya?!
Lt. Col. Frank Slade: [Screaming] What life?! I got no life!!!! I'm in the dark here! You understand?! I'm in the dark!!!

Commentary:

There are many tales of Jesus healing people of unclean spirits and banishing demons throughout the gospels. In the modern age, readers are often split on what this means. Are these figurative unclean spirits? Are these literal demons from a monstrous, fiery place? The text doesn’t always make it as clear cut as one might want it to be. On the other hand, that can be a good thing. After all, if it was too definitive one or the other, it’s quite possible half of its potential readers would roll their eyes and move on instead of considering what it could mean for their life. A little mystery can go a long way, even in a story as divisive as this one where Jesus’s fame grows after he heals a man of his unclean spirit. 

I’ll tip my hand a bit and offer that I’m more inclined toward figurative demons in these texts than otherwise, but no matter what these demons are or their origins, I’m often left with a huge question: what happened to these men? What was their life like after these stories? Were they fully accepted and embraced once their demons were overcome? Were they still shunned, or perhaps feared? Who believed them, and why? Who didn’t believe them, and why not? We don’t always know what life was like for the person who had demons before they met Jesus (we do get a clue in the demoniac called Legion in Mark 5:1-20, who is chained up and living in the cemetery), but we can assume it was challenging. After meeting Jesus, my hope is that life was so markedly different for them that the difference radiated into the community around them.

In the movie Scent of a Woman, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade is old, blind, and tired. He’s lived a rough life, having isolated himself by alienating himself to most everyone he has ever loved. Blinded after a careless, drunken accident involving grenades (how’s that for a set-up?!), Frank is relegated to living in his niece’s family, with people, but ultimately alone. He is “chained,” so to speak, to the guest house in the backyard. He is haunted by the “demons” of his past. And he sees no way through the ever-growing darkness in his life.

Though 30+ years old, it’s quite possible many R-Rated Movie Club readers haven’t seen Scent of a Woman yet, so I cannot reveal what happens after this pivotal scene. Charlie confronts Frank about his plan to end his life, daring him to kill him, too. It’s an epiphany moment for Frank. His demons stare him right in the face, and all he can do is stare into the dark void before him. It’s not for me to say if he lives beyond this moment, but I will say this: for all of my wondering about what it was like for people healed of their demons by Jesus - as well as the ramifications for their community - moviegoers witness the ripple effect of this moment. Charlie’s life is forever changed. Even members of Frank’s life are changed, despite his prior treatment of them. 

When we meet someone with demons, I think one of the most difficult things is to love them through the demons. Boundaries are important, and I won’t argue that we don’t need to protect ourselves. We all need that. I also think about who I’ve known with demons and whether I was there for them in their struggle. If I am there for them after they’ve gone through the fire. Whether I can love them as they move from that time in their life. And - and, and, and oh boy, is this the tricky part - what about when I have my own journey through demons? True love isn’t transactional, but there’s nothing quite so sobering as confronting your own demons in the dark and learning that you aren’t alone.

For all who face demons, for all who face the dark, may light find you.