MovieChat Forums > About Schmidt (2003) Discussion > did anyone else HATE the last minute?

did anyone else HATE the last minute?

posted 15 years ago by Krak-the-Quacktastic-Cracker
74 replies | jump to latest

This was one of those movies that I liked throughout the entire film, until the very very end. I was excited during the last scene at what I thought was going to be a great ending. In my opinion, the movie should have ended after Schmidt's voice over saying that he had made no difference to anyone's life. This would have been perfect because obviously he makes a huge difference in the little boy's life whom he was talking (or writing) to. However, then he opens the letter from the nun, and I just wanted to puke because of how corny it was. I think it would have been a lot better if they left that part out, to me this was oversimplifying things; dumbing it down for the audience. Maybe even if they just showed him opening the letter, but noo...

[–] chas437 13 years ago

Bravo, the last moment made the film! This is easily one of the top 10-films of the decade, and the OP is a fool. There is so much depth and substance in this film, I can't even begin.

In terms of an Alexander Payne film, I believe "The Descendants" was "About Schmidt" with much less humor. Both great films for sure, but "About Schmidt" probably speaks to the American condition much more directly.

This film is a masterpiece that is unfortunately a little known film.

[–] criztu 12 years ago

However, then he opens the letter from the nun, and I just wanted to puke because of how corny it was. I think it would have been a lot better if they left that part out, to me this was oversimplifying things; dumbing it down for the audience.

It bothers me too, but I don't think it's what you think it is. I think that scene is actually far from being dumbed down for the audience.

That drawing is actually the embodiment of Schmidt desire to be reborn, start life again. Or maybe it's a symbol for Schmidt being born as a real human (he was a machine calculating probabilities until his retirement). Anyway, the scene has to do with being born/reborn.

Schmidt's cheesy cry might mean regression to infancy - he is reduced to a helpless newborn. Note how the drawing does not depict a mother+father, but only a small child holding hand with an adult, a mother with barely any attributes of a woman (no long hair, no breasts, clothes that hardly resemble a robe, ok, perhaps the legs might indicate woman hips). And the little child has a very long hand, s/he is connected to the adult as if through an umbilical cord.

[–] davemccrea-1 12 years ago

eh, no. The last minute was one of the most powerful endings in a film I have ever seen.

[–] nutsberryfarm 12 years ago

should have ended @ the wedding speech @ the point warren didn't know what to say.

“Can't go wrong with taupe."- Wynn Duffy

[–] jac91604 12 years ago

NO, I loved the ending.

It was simple and touching, and it showed he did matter.

And the acting was amazing, no words just through the eyes.

[–] niccolomineo 12 years ago

Krak, that is how those letters are actually written. I know this because I have a relative doing the same for a child in Nigeria and she receives letters from him.

Yet I agree with you that the ending could have been better the way you described.

[–] chas437 12 years ago

I absolutely loved the last minute. It made the film.

[–] rmiikku 12 years ago

I don't even think that was the point of the ending. It cant be, because that would not be nearly enough. Dont worry about doing anything with your life, dont worry about growing, having a career, having happy life, making people in your family happy forget all that as long as you pay couple of dollars a month to some kid in Africa your life will be fulfilled, your life means something. Thats not nearly enough, that means hardly anything at all, you are still a huge *beep*

You can't build your life on an idea that someone has it worse, that can make you feel better momentarily but its not life philosophy.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] rc_lrd 12 years ago

Some people are sentimental by nature and react emotionally to this final scene. Others are not, apparently. This scene is the most powerfully moving final scene of any movie I have ever seen. I can't think of any actor other than Jack Nicholson who could have conveyed so much complex emotion through just 20 seconds of subtle facial expression. A masterful performance. Of course, it's true that we the audience know that Warren has made a positive difference to someone's life. But until the final few seconds of the film he himself hasn't thought about it - that is a turning point in his emotional life, and we need to see the impact on him of this revelation. And what an impact! The feelings he has bottled up for many decades are suddenly released in a flood of emotion. He suddenly understands that he has missed out on so much that life has to offer by not realizing that the most important things in life are not to do with career and outward success - they are to do with warm human relationships. Now he suddenly understands. And what triggers this emotional upheaval? - Ndugu's simple representation of human relationship, offered to Warren in gratitude. The last few powerful seconds of this film brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. I can think of very few films whose final scenes can do that to me (at the moment only City Lights and Cinema Paradiso come to mind...).

[–] bsharporflat 12 years ago

Agreed. It is sad that Schmidt let so many other opportunities slip by in his life. A heartbreaking ending.

But, call me a hopeless pollyanna, I am still touched and heartened that he at least managed to make a difference for Ndugu. One small ray of sunshine crept in at the end of a drab and dismal life.

[–] cultfilmfreaksdotcom 12 years ago

I agree, it was a weak ending, wound up being like an informercial to the child giving thing, forget the name.

And My Movie Reviews www.cultfilmfreaks.com

[–] Quicksilver1900 12 years ago

I thought the ending was excellent. After accurately assessing his life as leaving relatively little to the world, he received the letter from Africa. Warren's cheques had gotten medical care for Ndugu's eye infection; without his aid, the little boy might have lost the eye. The ending showed that it wasn't too late, and change can come in surprising and unexpected ways. It showed Warren the way forward. I like to think that he got involved with local child charities and had a real experience of being a force for good in others' lives.

This film was really a tour de force for Jack Nicholson.