About Schmidt
© James C. Hess
It turned out, to make a long story short, there was no truth to be found in this assumption: Everything he had done in life to that point was, in fact, antithetical: While his professional life was full and fulfilling his private life was, at best, empty and without value. He had never married, never had children or meaningful relationships, and had, at road's end, not much to show for his life.
I know all this, for whatever it may be worth, because he told me so. You see, the reason I encountered him at this particular film festival was because he had been called upon to present a lifetime achievement award to another actor. An actor, incidentially, who not only worked tirelessly in his professional life but his private life as well. And when the great and wonderful actor realized who it was he would be presenting the award to, well, he more or less fell apart, because, suddenly, his life, and what had not been, came rushing down on him.
Again, long story short: Because of his emotional state he was unable to present the award in question, someone else was called upon to do this duty, and the great and wonderful actor was left to come to terms with his lot in life.
I realized the other day, as I watched the film "About Schmidt", I never found out if the aforementioned actor ever came to terms with what his life wasn't. I suppose, on one level, it may go to explain how it was he ultimately died: Alone. Not found for days, because no one ever came to check on him. No one ever came to check on him because no one ever thought to do so.
But I digress. As I was saying: The other day I was watching "About Schmidt", a film about a man who never did much with his life and how it was he reacted when the time came he must confront this reality.
