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Release Date: Dec 13,
2002
Rated: R
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Starring: Jack Nicholson,
Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates, Howard Hesseman
Produced by: Harry Gittes,
Michael Besman
Written by: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
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Distributor:
New Line Cinema
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Review Date: December 13, 2002
About Schmidt
Directed by: Alexander Payne___________________________________
Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is the salt of the earth; he is the very foundation that constitutes the bedrock on which America firmly sits. Husband, father, tireless worker, Schmidt embodies the qualities of decency and virtue that make him an ideal poster boy for the Un-ugly America campaign. But wait a minute …
In Alexander Payne’s excellent, funny, touching About Schmidt, it doesn’t take much scratching to reveal that just below that surface veneer there’s a lifetime of disappointment, betrayal and any number of other things that would shatter the picture perfect American dream. It’s not a cynical, belittling portrait; it is some kind of truth that gets the balance of sadness, levity and the absurd just right. He is our Everyman, not quite tragic but rather embraceable in all his flaws.
Based on a novel by Louis Begley, adapted by Payne and writing partner Jim Taylor, the film is a model of economy steeped in observation and compassion. In terms of plot, nothing much happens in the bold, outward fashion favored by conventional mainstream movies. The log line might read: Schmidt, 60ish, retires from an insurance company and, following a family tragedy, sets out on a personal journey in his motor home.
In it’s own unique way, About Schmidt is a road movie. A lot of miles are literally logged in the course of two hours and yet it is the trek through Schmidt’s psyche that provides the most arresting vistas.
Retirement is a bitter pill for Schmidt to swallow. Behind the smile and pleasant demeanor there’s fear. He dreads the prospect of not having some place to go in the morning; he dreads the idea that he will not be missed and, most of all, he’s terrified about what he might learn about himself and his life now that he has it - unfettered by professional distraction - up close and personal.
Perhaps in a vain effort to avoid it all, Schmidt and wife Helen (June Squibb) map out a trip across America in their mini-Winny. But then the next shockwave hits. Arriving home from a time-wasting excursion, he finds Helen lifeless on the kitchen floor, grasping her beloved vacuum cleaner. Bam!
That’s followed in quick succession by the arrival of his daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) and her lunkish boyfriend Randall (Dermot Mulroney) from Colorado. Schmidt stills thinks of her as an adoring six-year-old and not the grown woman with issues about his long standing emotional absence and imbedded penurious nature. His open hostility toward Randall and their impending marriage solidifies the divide.
The last door slams shut when the mourners leave and Schmidt, combing through the house, discovers a trove of love letters exchanged between Helen and his best friend Ray (Len Cariou). He is inconsolable.
But Schmidt has one last connection to the world … Ndugo, a six-year-old African orphan he adopted after seeing a public service announcement on television. In letters heard in voice-over, the man reveals his inner self - it is his truth or what he can stomach but, in all its shadings, the essence of who he is warts and all.
It’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Jack Nicholson as Warren Schmidt. His square frame and physical gravity perfectly personify the character. However, what separates him from virtually everyone else is a keen ability to modulate his screen persona to fit the director’s needs and intent. There’s something seemingly familiar by his very presence, yet one’s hard pressed to identify an earlier role that informs the strengths and frailty of this title performance.
The rest of the cast is also on target. Davis boldly makes Jeannie at once unpleasant and sympathetic while Mulroney is pitch perfect at conveying someone self-absorbed and too unreflective to grasp his limitations. And providing a joyous bounce is Kathy Bates in a balls out performance as Randall’s ex-hippie mother and Schmidt’s disarming host when he goes to Denver for the wedding.
Payne as director and co-writer with Taylor earns his status as a maverick talent. Perhaps it’s because his stories are all situated in his boyhood home of Omaha that he takes comfort in the environment and lets loose with searing indictments of truly American stories. About Schmidt represents another significant advance in his work. The film is not just technically assured, it has a confidence in its deliberate pacing that smoothes over all narrative bumps. It is as damning a look at the American family, or a compulsion for the institution that belies cold reality, as has ever been portrayed on the screen. And through it all he loves and understands his characters passionately, embracing them and allowing them a voice that cannot be dismissed.
A New Line Cinema release of a Michael Besman/Harry Gittes production. Produced by Gittes, Besman. Director, Alexander Payne. Screenplay, Payne, Jim Taylor, based upon the novel by Louis Begley. Camera, James Glennon. Editor, Kevin Tent. Music, Rolfe Kent. Production design, Jane Ann Stewart. Costumes, Wendy Chuck.
Jack Nicholson (Warren Schmidt), Hope Davis (Jeannie Schmidt), Dermot Mulroney (Randall Hertzel), Kathy Bates (Roberta Hertzel), Len Cariou (Ray), Howard Hesseman (Larry Hertzel), June Squibb (Helen Schmidt).
