Jack on the box (and on the silver screen)

Continuing the misanthropic theme, I eventually got to see Jack Nicholson in 'As Good As It Gets' courtesy of C4. As neurotically obsessive writer Melvin Udall, Nicholson is excellent, but what makes his character so devilishly watchable at first (in particular, his deliciously acid way with words) is inevitably lost as the film slides towards its romantic denouement. So, a slight disappointment, although this movement is graceful and stylish, never really dissolving into triteness.

More satisfying in comparison was Nicholson's latest movie, 'About Schmidt', which I saw in the cinema the day before. One of those films where you think, "How can the auditorium possibly be so empty?". It is wonderful. Nicholson plays Warren Schmidt, an empty vessel set adrift as the ropes lashing him to life are untied from their moorings. He retires from his job, and his wife dies suddenly, prompting his existential reflections and fears. Just like Schmidt, the plot is for the most part apparently directionless, allowed to float and drift along, and even when it does gain momentum, the closure visible on the horizon vanishes into the ether. This film's beauty is that from the thinnest and most unremarkable strands and wisps of detail it is able to weave scenes of incredible emotional power.