Irresponsibility Movie Sociology

Warren and Helen Schmidt have been married for 42 years and have lived respectful lives in Omaha Nebraska; Warren as an assistant vice president actuary business professional who investigates the financial costs of risk for insurance and pension programs at Woodman of the World Insurance Company, and Helen as a housewife. They have an only daughter named Jeannie living in Denver Colorado who is engaged to Randall Hertzel. Warren has an older brother, Harry, who lives in Roanoke, Virginia with his wife, Estelle.
Schmidt is an emotionally lacking, seemingly unhappy 66 year old man. The film has only loosely implied at the reason for the cause of Schmidt’s unhappiness. We have not been told the source of his discontent, or his need to hold people

In the following weeks after her death he attempts to conceal his struggles without Helen, writing to Ndugu that he is managing well without her. All the while, we see him wallowing in an unkempt house, and piling frozen dinners in to his RV after shopping. Finally we see him dealing with his grief by putting on Helen’s cold cream, and reminiscing while going through the clothes, and looking through shoe boxes in her closet. Here he finds love letters to his wife from his colleague and lifelong friend Ray. Mourning turns to rage, in which he throw-outs all of her belongings and later confronts

We first see a Life Event in the opening scene as he sits is in his neatly packed away office looking deadpan, staring at the seconds for the clock to strike five so that he can leave. I wondered if he is waiting out the time because he is unenthusiastic about leaving or because he is steadfast and tied to so many years of the same routine. I also get the feeling that his retirement was more his wife’s idea then his own. This is apparent when the next morning Helen cooks breakfast in the RV and she is much more excited than Warren when she toasts to “a whole new