This isn’t to say that his films were uniformly serious or sombre or some kind of chore to be viewed out of obligation. The man was very capable of funny, even silliness in his films, but his voice was one marked by maturity, by a highly developed sense of humour, by an honesty about life experience. Nichols was able to create films that rose above simple presentation of story, managing to elevate them by capturing something of the spiritual milieu that brought them into being.
What made his work so compelling was the man’s ability to manipulate his cast and so often bring out of them something wonderful, something that absolutely grounded the characters in a reality, indeed a humanity, that would likely have been lost in the hands of another director. Nichols never let you forget that for all of their ranting, their rallying, their comedic japery (and it was almost always comedic), these were people with lives that started before we met them and continued on after we left. And Mike Nichols was the one who made that happen.
It's a shame that Nichols rarely comes up in conversations about truly great directors, but it speaks volumes about him that when his name does get mentioned, it is an instant reminder of a long and incredible career that has enriched the cinematic landscape and culture as a whole.