ABOUT SCHMIDT (2002) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Alexander Payne

Written by - Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor (based on a novel by Louis Begley)

Starring - Jack Nicholson

"Following his practically forced retirement, a man embarks on a journey to her estranged daughter’s wedding and discovers more about himself along the way. 

In recent times, such premises have been mistreated and commercialised. It is, hence, with great pleasure to find screenwriter and director Alexander Payne is keen on making About Schmidt a gem of a movie. 

For starters, it is the open use of deadpan comedy that makes the film all the more enigmatic and melancholic through a clever infusion of humour. Within this approach, the film is able to achieve excellent character study and also a though provoking examination of realisation and the concept depression induced by facing up to mortality upon the realisation of having reached an old age. 

Jack Nicholson’s leading turn is tastefully restrained and can be considered as one of the best of the second part of his career, and it symbolises an added vital driving force to the film. "

Comedy, USA