In ABOUT SCHMIDT, the main character played by Jack Nicholson is retiring. He has lived the part of insurance salesman and husband in life and is now left alone with his thoughts, knowing that he has not accomplished much and that his marriage of 42 years has been characterized chiefly by compromise and stoicism. Warren Schmidt has developed the kind of emotional numbness, the near zombification that many impending American retirees fear. His numbness is a mask for the lifelong fear that he has been and still is powerless to rise above his own mediocrity and to transcend the roles in which life has him cast.
"Dear Ndugu"…he writes in a series of letters to the six-year-old African boy whom he sponsors. Each letter is a confessional, a cry for help from Schmidt’s imprisoned soul. Each letter is also accompanied by a check that he sends to buy the boy food. Even the act of confession comes at a price. Schmidt is someone who has never been able to express himself without having to pay. Before this character can explode (like Michael Douglas in Falling Down, or act out like George Burns in Going Out Of Style) the supernova that is Schmidt fizzles like a damp fuse.
Nicholson is terrific in the role. His performance is slightly stylized (glassy eyed vacant stares, emotionally blank non-responsive looks) but at the same time he achieves a balance. Most actors are not capable of walking the line between comedy and melancholy as adroitly as Nicholson does in this film. If it were not for director Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election) the comedy could have spun off into camp or the melancholy could have led us down an Ordinary People-type path, one which comments on how individuals can live their entire lives without ever acting out their true emotions. Fortunately Payne (also the screen writer) keeps the movie headed in the right direction. The point is not that Schmidt is unable to take action; it is that he takes actions that are unsuccessful. His attempt to express his anger at a best friend who has betrayed him or to order his daughter (Hope Davis) not to marry the loser (Dermot Mulroney) she has fallen in love with are only attempts. In an effort to become more self-realized and active as a human being Schmidt only succeeds in re-affirming his life status as a competent but unremarkable failure that has never quite been able to connect with his loved ones or with the universe in general.
Payne’s controlled, somewhat muted approach to the material may frustrate some viewers. The polish of the cinematography, the slow minor-chord precision of the piano based soundtrack, the emotional bleakness of the landscapes, all threaten to make this film feel like an echo of Schmidt himself – a controlled nightmare that is difficult to enjoy. At times it could be asked, is the movie too controlled to be emotionally satisfying? And yet, Payne pulls it off by balancing the comedy with the pathos. He keeps us wondering what Schmidt will do next.
The movie is sure footed and Nicholson’s performance takes all the right baby steps toward the final conclusion (Schmidt is a character that does not move in leaps and bounds). This last moment is realized with the right balance of tenderness, comedy and suffering so that nothing else is felt to be required or needed when the credits roll. For those of you who do not care for the bittersweet or who crave something wildly unpredictable, this film is not for you. But for those of us who crave an accurate expression of just how blended the tonality of real life is, and how easily we can all become trapped in our prescribed roles, ABOUT SCHMIDT is a movie to relish. As in life, the choice is up to you.