I'm amazed that you don't hear much about this terrific film these days. Released in 1970, "Five Easy Pieces" heralded a renaissance of highly personal character driven films championed by not only since film's director, Bob Rafelson, but also Robert Altman and Hal Ashby, among others. This film focuses on people, their quirks and their interpersonal relationships. The film's central character, Robert Eroica Dupea, is not a particularly likable person but as written superbly by Carol Eastman and brilliantly assayed by Jack Nicholson he becomes sympathetic. Stifled by an austere artistic clan, Dupea escapes but leads a directionless existence going from one meaningless job after another and engages in a romance with a waitress(Karen Black) that he has little if anything in common with. Nicholson gives a carefully modulated performance, a departure from his more flamboyant work in "Easy Rider", suggesting both the anger, apathy, and sadness that seethes inside. The real revelation here is Black. A lesser actress would have portrayed Rayette as a dumb bunny. Black saw more complexity in her character. Rayette is certainly unlearned but Black brought out the sweetness and the sadness in her. It's unfathomable how Black lost the Oscar to Helen Hayes in "Airport"(?!). On a final note any film that puts Tammy Wynette and Chopin on equal footing has to be great.
June 22, 2008For the record, the oil field section of this classic don't take place in Texas. Try California, as in the oilfields north of LA and west of Bakersfiled. You can even see CA roadsigns in the Highway 5 piano playing scene. This may seem to be a trivial point, but it matters in the understanding of Jack's character. All that aside, this flick is a subtle classic.
February 21, 2008I saw this movie when it first came out, and upon viewing it recently (2008), it appears to be different. I remember it being in black and white, and I remember the confrontation with the character's father as being far more emotional and extended in time. Duprea said a great deal more to his father than - we never did talk much, did we? I think portions of the movie, which serve to give a much clearer picture of the relationship between father and son, have been edited out - to the detrement of artist and audience. I grew up in just such a family and had the exact same reactions of Duprea, to the sterile, narrow minded, judgemental environment in which the character was raised. I recognized the cold, life-less atmosphere of the house, peopled by those ignorant of real life, yet dangerous because of their imagined insight and superiority. I would have liked to see the original movie, uncut.
January 22, 2008 |  | One of Jack Nicholson's best films |  |
I saw "Five Easy Pieces" back in 1974-I was completely blown away by Jack Nicholson's performance-It turns out he was nominated for Best Actor in 1970-Unfortunately,he lost to George C.Scott,who ironically refused to accept his Oscar for "Patton"-Sharp eyed viewers will catch a then unknown actress named Sally Struthers,who went on to play Gloria in the hit TV series "All In The Family"-My favorite scene in "FEP" is when Nicholson gets testy with the waitress in the diner-That's a keeper!-This is Jack Nicholson at his best.
September 30, 2007It was a bit odd seeing sweet Sally Struthers behave so 'naughty', but she played it well. I also loved the ranting hitchhiker. So many great actors! An angry young man who can't love himself has trouble relating to those who care about him, including his family. Shallow on the surface, he's actually a storm of emotions inside, having been unable to please his father who wanted him to have a music career as a pianist. This is a must-have for classic lovers.
Chrissy K. McVay - Author
August 27, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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