About Schmidt.

Review #1169: About Schmidt.

Cast: 
Jack Nicholson (Warren R. Schmidt), Kathy Bates (Roberta Hertzel), Hope Davis (Jeannie Schmidt), Dermot Mulroney (Randall Hertzel), June Squibb (Helen Schmidt), Howard Hesseman (Larry Hertzel), Harry Groener (John Rusk), Connie Ray (Vicki Rusk), and Len Cariou (Ray Nichols) Directed by Alexander Payne (#635 - Nebraska)

Review: 
About Schmidt (based on the novel of the same name by Louis Begley) is an interesting movie to see play out from start to finish, balancing comedy and drama in its presentation of a man who has found sudden meaningless in his existence going on a journey that ends up helping him find some sort of purpose. At the heart of what makes this an entertaining film is Nicholson, who delivers a captivating performance that is hard to resist in how he depicts someone with such an empty life and desperation that goes against type for Nicholson brilliantly. From the very beginning, one knows that they will be for an interesting type of movie, with a silent opening and some shots of the WoodmenLife Tower in Nebraska (where most of the film was shot), complete with the ticking of a clock towards retirement and the look on Nicholson's face, giving the audience something to think about without even having to say a word. There is a fine balance of humor and pathos throughout the film, never going too hard into one category while keeping itself on a steady trail throughout the numerous places the film wants to encounter. The rest of the cast do pretty well to accompany Nicholson, such as Bates. She pulls off a wonderful performance for her time on-screen in the latter half of the film, having plenty of free spirited energy to go around along with delivering some biting humor that goes well at times to contrast with Nicholson. Davis does fine with her key role, capturing a sense of alienation and frustration while trying to keep things together, and she pulls it off pretty well. Mulroney does a fine job with his role, having a fun sense of foolish nature that makes him amusing to watch with his time on screen. The rest of the cast have their moments to do fine on screen, but the film drives itself on its take on the ordinary and what it means to live in life - whether in making a difference in someone's life or finding time to appreciate the things around someone. It is evident that the screenplay (done by Payne and Jim Taylor) was given a careful amount of crafting to try and deliver a movie that wanted to touch upon its subject without going too much into easy crowd-pleasing moments. It never delves into being too sentimental or overtly harsh throughout its journey - it goes for a sense of honesty and emotional depth without straining too much to achieve said goals, complete with an effective ending to capstone the whole experience. It isn't a perfect movie, but it is at the very least an interesting one to examine that rewards anyone willing to have the patience for what it offers. With a run-time of 124 minutes, the film does take its time to get itself going, but it more than makes up for it with multiple entertaining performances, with Nicholson being a crucial and engaging part of what makes the film work as well as it does.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.