I have loved all of Payne's films and About Schmidt is the one I think got the most robbed when it came to Oscar nominations. It managed to win the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay but wasn't even NOMINATED for Best Adapted Screenplay (the adaptation of About a Boy was for inexplicable reasons). The movie was infinitely superior to Chicago and I still prefer it to Gangs Of New York, both of which are fine films but lack the subtlety and nuance of this one. This is one of Nicholson's greatest performaces, full stop and while Adrian Brody was a superb choice for The Pianist, I would not have objected if Nicholson had taken the prize.

When Nicholson won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, he expressed confusion "because I thought we did a comedy." I do get that but it is the nature of Payne as a filmmaker that every movie he has made (with the exception of Sideways, which is a comedy) fits uneasily into either the Drama or Comedy category. I don't thiNK this is Payne's best movie (I still believe the Descendants is his masterpiece) but it is one of the most profound and deeply moving.