Review of About Schmidt (2002) by Olaolu A — 20 May 2012

Definitely not the best film on Alexander Payne's resume but it's still a very worthwhile effort that mixes understand drama and humor in a mostly successful manner. More importantly, it proves definitively that Jack Nicholson can do more - a lot more in fact - than just sneer and go over the top.

Here in the role of the title character, Warren Schmidt, the actor completely buries his own larger-than-life persona under the skin of the person he is portraying an brings him to life, flaws and all.

It's a surprisingly low-key performance and it's all the better for it. Nicholson does as much acting with his facial expressions and his eyes as he does with dialogue. More to come later...