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Oscars 2020

I watched "About Schmidt" last night, because I'm so happy that Kathy Bates is in the Oscar mix, and I wanted to revisit one of her earlier triumphs.

A man loses his wife of forty-two years--a wife he sort of dislikes--and he discovers she once had an affair. The man has to fill his days, and he is maybe relieved that his daughter is getting married (a distraction), even though he has (correctly) identified the groom-to-be as a liar and an ass. And that's all. The groom-to-be doesn't change. The wedding is wonderfully painful, and our hero decides to be kind. He gives a vague, nice toast at the big dinner; he goes home and weeps. That's the story.

This movie was Jack Nicholson's last great performance; he made "The Departed" later, but people don't like him in "The Departed." Nicholson won a Golden Globe for "Schmidt," and he almost won an Oscar; his co-star, Kathy Bates, almost won an Oscar, as well.

The thing I really admire throughout is the director's sense of rule-breaking. Why not make a Hollywood film about old age? Why not film a bland, vacant office for several seconds? Don't make it over-the-top in its sadness; just film it, and let the camera linger until things get uncomfortable. Why not put Kathy Bates's naked body on-screen? (This is a big part of why the movie became famous.) Why not pay close attention to the ways in which actual people actually speak? (So many breezy cliches. "These Young Turks think they know everything!" "I'll give you a holler if I have any questions..." "What say you, Ol' Pal?" After the non-witticism, there is a required nervous laugh, and Alexander Payne really highlights this laugh. You feel like you're in Stewart O'Nan territory.)

Anyway, I'm glad I re-watched this. I have to say, the Oscar films that are calling out to me this year aren't the Mendes epic or the Tarantino movie. What I'd like to see is "Klaus," along with "I Lost My Body." Time will tell. Happy viewing to you.
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