ABOUT TRUTH, ABOUT SOUL, ABOUT TIME

On a superficial level, ’’About Schmidt’’ appears to be based on the exasperations and insecurities of retirement, what with losing one’s attachment to societal life, and coming to a halt on a rung in that ladder of societal status and financial accomplishment. But the layers peeled back by the writers and director are numerous and richly profound.

Warren Schmidt is first introduced to us in his office, watching the final few seconds tick by on his final day at ’’Woodmen’’ Insurance Company, where he has worked for many years of his life. The story rolls by sequentially, and we find ourselves observing this quiet, pensive man alone in his car, at a retirement dinner in his honor, and relating with his wife of many years. These scenes, although imaginatively unexciting, serve to introduce us to this character (insightfully nuanced by Jack Nicholson), giving him form, and successfully painting a very clear picture of his present outlook on his life. And the movie would seem to continue along this vein, forcing the viewer to fear that there will be 90 more minutes of watching this torpidly and painfully banal shell of a human move about his daily life, and one wishes that something miraculous--or even tragic--would happen so that life can be pumped back into this inanimate being’s existence. But something better happens. Something tragic, yet miraculous at the same time. And the best part is that it happens in a very real way, and we learn more about the character as he learns more about his true self, which ultimately, if we are willing, teaches us a whole lot about ourselves.

Starring some familiar faces like Kathy Bates and Dermot Mulroney, this screenplay is flawlessly performed on all levels by all involved. This is a rare movie, the kind where the actors were in tune with the director, and the director with the screenwriter, who in turn was in tune with the book author, who was himself perfectly attuned to his imagined characters. In essence, the story’s true theme was depicted in perfect unison with all involved, and we as viewers can partake in this revelation if we wish to look beyond the superficial theme, and unmask the true reality of these characters and of their world, which bears a very striking and very discouraging similarity to ours. But all is not gloomy and somber, for in Schmidt’s struggle, he is afforded a lesson which befits all of our lives, and the ending to this movie is one of the most enlightening I have ever seen, both for the protagonist and for myself.

I highly recommend this intelligent, subtly profound masterpiece of cinematography.