About Schmidt (2002)

About Schmidt: Directed by Alexander Payne. With Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney. A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter’s wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

“Jack Nicholson stars as a Warren Schmidt, a man who suffers several crises at once. First he goes into retirement, then his wife dies, and finally his daughter marries a no-hoper. Forced to abandon his usual comfortable routine, Schmidt goes on a personal journey of discovery and tries to make some sense of his life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe beauty of About Schmidt is how well developed and interesting the characters are. They feel like real people struggling with real situations, which is a surprisingly difficult trick to pull off. This success can be attributed to the strength of the script and most importantly to the uniformly superb acting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film provides a showcase for Nicholson to display his talent, and he doesnu0026#39;t disappoint, delivering a superb and multi-layered turn, which is a world away from the smirking characters he often plays. He allows his face to droop, and adopts a world-weary expression, as Schmidt continually finds himself at the mercy of events.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of Schmidtu0026#39;s first decisions when he determines to get out of the rut he finds himself in is to sponsor an African child. This doesnu0026#39;t have much to do with the rest of the plot, but provides an outlet for Schmidtu0026#39;s innermost thoughts, and is a brilliant and original way of allowing the audience inside the head of the central character.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAbout Schmidt succeeds in tackling the subject of old age, a topic not often addressed in mainstream Hollywood fare, and for that it should be applauded. This is a terrific film, which features Nicholson at his best.”