About Schmidt
All actors and roles (10)
All team (27)
Short description
Warren Schmidt has just retired from a long career at an insurance company, and the change leaves him adrift. When his wife Helen dies suddenly, he finds himself alone with little idea of what to do next. He begins writing letters to Ndugu, a young Tanzanian boy he sponsors for a small monthly sum, using the correspondence as a way to talk about his life. When his only daughter Jeannie announces she is getting married in Denver to a man he does not think much of, Schmidt sets off in his motorhome to attend the wedding and try to talk her out of it.
The film was directed by Alexander Payne, his third feature after Citizen Ruth and Election, from a screenplay he wrote with Jim Taylor. Jack Nicholson plays Schmidt, with Kathy Bates, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb and Howard Hesseman among the supporting cast. It was made for about 30 million dollars and took in roughly 106 million worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 7.2 out of 10 from around 138,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.9 from a much smaller number of ratings. A film critics' rating of 8.1 from 203 reviews places it noticeably above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The scene where Nicholson sleeps in the bathroom is a reference to Jacques-Louis David's neoclassical painting 'The Death of Marat'.
- Phil Reeves, who played the priest at the wedding, also appeared in another film by Alexander Payne – 'Election' from 1999 – as the school principal.
- The film is based on the novel of the same name by Louis Begley from 1996, although all that connects them is the title and the name of the main character (Warren Schmidt). All other details – Schmidt's profession, place of residence, the cause of his wife's death, and so on – have been changed. Important plot elements from the book, such as his connection with Carrie, his attitude towards Jews, and the sale of his house, are not reflected in the film.
- At the 25th minute of the film, when the protagonist finds his wife dead, the sound of a running vacuum cleaner can be heard in the house. However, in the wide shot, a fork lying next to his wife's body is clearly visible, and it is not plugged into an outlet. The next shot shows this supposedly working vacuum cleaner, but the fibers from the carpet near the brush are completely still, although they should be sucked in if the vacuum cleaner was actually turned on.
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