Aging in About Schmidt

About Schmidt is a movie that focusses on one man-Warren Schmidt at a time when a number of crossroads hit his life simultaneously. After a very long career as an actuary with an insurance company, Warren has to retire. Just as he tries to reset his life to the new conditions, his 42-year-old marriage ends with the death of his wife. At the same time, he painfully discovered his best friend betrayed him, and he fails to stop her daughter’s marriage with a man he does not like. Now, Warren has to take a critical look at his life.

Central theme

The film boldly highlights one very clear theme: Finding meaning in life. Three defining issues put Warren’s life on the edge, as he remains with almost nothing to hold onto. Following the end of his work, the death of his wife and the thick cloud on his daughter’s marriage, everything in Warren’s life points towards meaningless. He faces the worst kind of identity crisis owing to his advanced age. The clock is ticking, his past is a dead end, his future is bleak, will he ever find meaning life? We go through a journey of Warren’s life as he tries to give it meaning. We sail with Warren through his emotional turmoil as prints down the last but most important chapter of his life.

Character analysis

Warren Schmidt.

With reference to aging, Warren’s life gives us innumerable pointers on what aging can turn out to be like. With the advancement of age, every individual indeed questions the meaning his or her life has had. In a twist of events, Warren sinks into depression after a very sad realization.

For all his entire life, Warren has defined his life by his job. Unfortunately, he loses it upon retirement. Warren is one who lacked intellectual curiosity. Not at once could he read a book for entertainment. The extent to which Warren had centered his life on tallying numbers as an actuary moves forward when we are shown a monstrous yawning of meaning in his marriage. The irony is surprising after 42 years in his marriage.

Warren also comes face to face with another grave and painful reality: Almost nobody will remember him when he is gone. He goes to his former workplace to answer any questions from the new person, but a sincere disappointment sinks when no questions are asked. He leaves no legacy at his workplace with the disbandment of his files and systems. Warren’s life illustrates how identity crisis is possible even after a long life that seemed successful.

Films Accuracy as a Depiction of Aging

The film, About Schmidt, clearly depicts aging as a natural human process. It is everybody’s wish that during his or her sunset years, they look back at their lives comfortably and smile all the way to their last minute. Looking at Warren’s life, our thoughts and lives face a challenge. It may not be all fun and laughter at an advanced age especially for those who did very little to mean something to people and lived a superficial life, pain will definitely be inevitable in their last days.

Nevertheless, Warren finds himself balancing his life out in a very uncommon manner. His life shows us that finding meaning in life does not come by endless hours at the office. Finding meaning in life comes from living it. Living life, in this case, is essentially having a profound sense of somebody’s life.

Warren finally lives his life when he adopts an African orphaned boy, Ndugu. He continually writes to him and gives him money monthly. Through the confession letters, he sends to Ndugu, he honestly lets out his emotions and worries- something he could not achieve in any other way. His tears of joy, at this time in his life, come when he gets the proper news of the monumental positive effects of his sponsorship on his adopted son. Despite other social catastrophes, Warren feels re-energized and faces life with happiness and a sense of achievement.