

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.
Acting
Nicholson's subtlest, most heartbreaking work.
Writing
Payne and Taylor's razor-sharp Midwestern melancholy.
Cinematography
Bleak American landscapes as emotional state.

Director
Alexander Payne
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Ndugu Foundation is fictional — Payne invented it to give Schmidt someone who couldn't judge back.
Nicholson insisted on gaining 30 pounds and wearing a fat suit — the paunch is performance, not prosthetic. He wanted audiences to forget they'd ever seen Jack Torrance.