Did anyone cry?

Hm...i can't really see the feeling of "hopeless" in the end, but as many of you have mentioned, it was significant because Warren had finally opened himself up and cried. You can see throughout the movie he was bottling up all these emotions and kept a straight face, more like an awkward face. For many people, it takes time to realize and understand the significance of our lives, why we are here, the true meaning of like, and whether or not we do make a difference existing. That moment Warren opened up that letter from sister Nadine Gautier and saw the drawing from Ndugu, he realized his existence does matter, maybe not even to his own family, but to Ndugu it had made a difference.

Wow! Can you say "cult following"?
Always nice to see.

That was a smile his face morphed into at the end. Maybe we don't expect it in Nicholson's craggy old devilish face.

Reminds me very much of the ending of Wild Strawberries, when Dr. Borg's face also morphed into a smile of contentment and enlightenment.

Funny how many reasonably intelligent people who have missed that. They just don't see the redemption at the end. But maybe they need to see it more that once, just like I didn't see it the first time in About Schmidt. I do like films which reveal more to you when you see them over again.

This is a finely crafted film that knows just how much of what to give you.

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I join the crying choir. It happens extremely rarely. All the usual superficial "emotions" in movies don't do anything for me. But this movie and Nicolson's performance had me completely dissolved. As a 47-year old man, I can all too well identify with Schmidt and his emotions. The power of this movie, apart from its solid acting, is its reflection of so many real people's real feelings in life. Brilliant how details of humour has been blended in. Schmidt's face when Roberta joins him in the pool is priceless. This is cinema at its best without computer animation, special effects etc.

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