A few months back I watched "The Descendants", Alexander Payne's most recent film. I wrote a blog entry about it. The thing that most struck me about that film was its closing shot. My wife and I finally watched this film, which Payne made 10 years ago. I found it even more impressive than "The Descendants", only partly because of the fact that, here again, the final shot of the film reorganizes the entire narrative which the viewer has just finished. This is a work of great profundity, and it seems interesting that I would come upon it as the wounds of the loss of my father still are somewhat fresh. This movie shows us an array of human emotion which includes loss, resentment, loneliness, despair, and hope.
Warren Schmidt is an insurance actuary living in Omaha, Nebraska. As the movie opens, he and his wife are heading to a dinner honoring his retirement. At the dinner, we meet life long friends and colleagues of Warren, as well as the young man in line to take his job. As Warren begins his new life, it quickly becomes clear to him that his life is without much purpose. He goes back to the office to visit with his predecessor and see if he needs any help. Not only does this young man not need his help, but on his way out of the building, Warren notices that the boxes and boxes of files that had been his life's work have been simply cast into the recycling area awaiting disposal. One night, Warren notices an advertisement for a charity which asks for sponsorship for poor children in third world countries. Warren secretly signs up to become a sponsor up and begins a correspondence with a 6 year old boy in Tanzania. Shortly after that, his wife dies suddenly. The scenes which ensue are amazing in how well they depict the grief process. Even though Warren and his wife had drifted apart, they were married for 42 years (interestingly, the same amount of time my parents were married), and her sudden absence is a shock to Warren. Another effective portrait is the business surrounding death. For a few days, Warren is surrounded by friends, and his daughter comes in from Denver with her fiancee to be with her father. But as the friends leave, Warren is left with his daughter, and some of the tensions in their relationship come out, After his daughter leaves, he is left alone, and some of the scenes after that are both tragic and comical. For instance, witness Warren's trip to the grocery store, wherein his bounty consists of frozen pizzas and hash browns. Were it not for the fact that his daughter is getting married soon in Denver, Warren may just become completely stagnant. But her wedding day is coming soon, and he begins to drive the enormous RV that he and his wife had planned to spend their retirement in to Denver. Along the way, he makes a journey into his own past. He revisits his birthplace (which has been replaced by a tire store), takes a stroll at his old college, and eventually ends up in Denver. It becomes clear that Warren can't stand his daughter's fiancee. He voices his objections, but knows that his efforts are futile. I will not give away the ending, but the movie continues to show us a man who is rather bland, but is in a world around him that is spinning out of control. All of this madness is organized around the letters that Warren writes to his 6 year old sponsor child in Tanzania. These letters give us a window into Warren's soul. It is only here in these letters do we see who is behind this facade. The contents of the letters are hardly appropriate for a 6 year old, but it becomes clear that Warren needs these letters to grapple with his new life, however long or short that life may be.
I have never thought of Jack Nicholson as anything other than a wonderful actor, but this film puts him in another category. I seem to remember some people scoffing at his Oscar win in "As Good as It Gets" because it seemed all to believable that Jack Nicholson would play a misanthrope. Here, Nicholson plays the opposite of what we perceive him to be. Warren is awkward, bashful and completely helpless without his late wife. Jack Nicholson inhabits this role so well. He is so believable, especially as he creates a character who seems to be utterly mystified by everything around him. The character is especially interesting as he relates to his daughter. Hope Davis plays his daughter Jeannie, and their relationship is complicated and delicate. He loves her terribly, but also alienates himself from her. She doesn't want him around, even though she loves him. We see this delicate balance played out masterfully as Warren gives a rambling toast at Jeannie's wedding.
On another front, the look of the film is one of stark Midwestern bleakness. There is hardly anything in this film but gray skies, and it reflects the tone of this film perfectly. This is such a deliberate decision on Payne's part, and the final shot of the film coupled with the overwhelming sense of gray in the film provide the key to the heart of this film. In the end, it is a film about hope and finding meaning. Any human life, however vain it may seem, has the possibility to be redeemed and to be meaningful. The visual impact of the last shot is stunning, and it really does bring a whole new light to the film. Every scene in the film is unflinching in its veracity. It seems odd, but it seemed therapeutic to watch this man deal with such a huge life change as I deal with a life change and watch my family go through a life change. Art can be quite a good friend at times.
