I simply loved this film!, it's great how Jack Nicholson performed this role, he isn't just brilliant, he is absolutely outstanding!, watching Nicholson i couldn't resist the comparison with his other performances, and i'm sure that he is maybe the most versatile actor in Hollywood, he live the character life and actually became that person, he is maybe the best Hollywood actor of all times!; i compare this Nicholson acting, with Tom Hanks - Cast Away; is a challenge for an actor to be totally the soul of a film, almost a monologue where 90% if not 100% of the film focuses on the main actor; only the true masters in the profession can do this with glory; and that's what Nicholson did here!. The story is touching and gave me the feeling of how wonderful live is, live is a ride that is so beautiful, that is a shame to start to live it just after retirement; Schimdt loves his life, his way of living; but he is sad, he knows that is a little bit late for living!, and his forces are drawn totally through the movie, until the film ends, brilliant and touching way to shake us all, and to push us to live our real lives, not the working lives!. The companies go and go with or without ourselves, but our live depends of what we do with it!. The Ndugu friend plays as a spectator the main supporting role in the film, Ndugu gives life to Schmidt and his true character and feelings; Ndugu discovers Schimdt, and uncover his sad ending of his life. Is remarkable how Nicholson and Payne manages to show a common normal retirement life as something captivating and beautiful as a film!. This film is totally a masterpiece, and something i need to have in my collection. Simply Great!
ABOUT THE MOVIE: Nicholson plays here the role of Warren Schmidt, a man that trough his sixties faces the retirement, and enters to a new life, in this personal change he start to feel the emptiness of his life, he has missed the true way of living and now he has to handle this fact; his relationship with his wife Helen (June Squibb) turns boring and their plans in this time resume to traveling in a modern van that they bought! His wife suddenly die and he faces loneliness and a daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) that has always disagreed with him, he love her but she's already far from him, living a totally different live, and about to marry with a man that Warren don't approve: Randall (Dermot Mulroney), who lives as a salesman of water-beds, he writes letters to Ndugu, a child in Tanzania who he support economically with a foundation, in those letters he describes all his feelings day by day. He then decides to travel in his van and go to visit his daughter some days before wedding, his daughter don't want him to visit her so he makes a long journey where he visit a lot of places, people, he bring some memories and finally he arrive to the place where the family of his daughter lives and meet the particular Randall's mother Roberta (Kathy Bates great acting!). He then faces the wedding of his Jeannie and Randall and in the way he see his own life going away in emptiness.
10/10! for this beautiful combined work of Payne and Nicholson!
ABOUT THE MOVIE: Nicholson plays here the role of Warren Schmidt, a man that trough his sixties faces the retirement, and enters to a new life, in this personal change he start to feel the emptiness of his life, he has missed the true way of living and now he has to handle this fact; his relationship with his wife Helen (June Squibb) turns boring and their plans in this time resume to traveling in a modern van that they bought! His wife suddenly die and he faces loneliness and a daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) that has always disagreed with him, he love her but she's already far from him, living a totally different live, and about to marry with a man that Warren don't approve: Randall (Dermot Mulroney), who lives as a salesman of water-beds, he writes letters to Ndugu, a child in Tanzania who he support economically with a foundation, in those letters he describes all his feelings day by day. He then decides to travel in his van and go to visit his daughter some days before wedding, his daughter don't want him to visit her so he makes a long journey where he visit a lot of places, people, he bring some memories and finally he arrive to the place where the family of his daughter lives and meet the particular Randall's mother Roberta (Kathy Bates great acting!). He then faces the wedding of his Jeannie and Randall and in the way he see his own life going away in emptiness.
10/10! for this beautiful combined work of Payne and Nicholson!