Five Easy Pieces starring Jack Nicholson, Karen Black
Director: Bob Rafelson

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This subtle, existential character study of an emotionally distant outcast (Nicholson) forced to confront his past failures remains an intimate cornerstone of American '70s cinema. Written and directed with remarkable restraint by Bob Rafelson, the film is the result of a short-lived partnership between the filmmaker and Nicholson--the first was the zany formalist exercise, Head, while the equally impressive King of Marvin Gardens followed Five Easy Pieces. Quiet and full of long, controlled takes, this film draws its strength from the acutely detailed, nonjudgmental observations of its complex protagonist, Robert Dupea--an extremely crass and frustrated oil worker, and failed child pianist hiding from his past in Texas. Dupea spends his life drinking beer and sleeping with (and cheating on) his annoying but adoring Tammy Wynette-wannabe girlfriend, but when he learns that his father is dying in Washington State, he leaves. After the film transforms into a spirited road movie, and arrives at the eccentric upper-class Dupea family mansion, it becomes apparent that leaving is what Dupea does best--from his problems, fears, and those who love him. Nicholson gives a difficult yet masterful performance in an unlikable role, one that's full of ambiguity and requires violent shifts in acting style. Several sequences--such as his stopping traffic to play piano, or his famous verbal duels with a cranky waitress over a chicken-salad sandwich--are Nicholson landmarks. Yet, it's the quieter moments, when Dupea tries miserably to communicate and reconcile with his dying father, where the actor shows his real talent--and by extension, shows us the wounded little boy that lurks in the shell of the man Dupea has become.
Synopsis
Jack Nicholson plays Robert Dupea, a talented pianist who forsakes his privileged background for a working class existence on the oil rigs of Southern California. Dupea eventually leaves his newfound "family" of friends and his pregnant lover, traveling back north to visit his ailing father in Puget Sound. While resisting the pull of his former life, Robert finally lights out for parts unknown, continuing his drifting ways with no real sense of where he's going or why.

Video Description
A classical pianist from a well-to-do family has made a career of running from job to job and woman to woman. When he returns home to his father's deathbed, he meets a sophisticated woman and falls in love, inexorably altering his lifestyle. Academy Award Nominations: 4, including Best Picture, Best Actor--Jack Nicholson, Best Supporting Actress--Karen Black and Best (Original)Screenplay--Bob Rafelson and Adrien Joyce.

 

 

 

 

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