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Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Director: Bob Rafelson
Cast overview: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black
Running time: 98 minutes
Bob Rafelson's 1970 film stars Jack Nicholson as Robert Eroica Dupea, an upper-class drop-out who becomes a drifter working on oil rigs. It's a fairly bleak film, and one without a clear message, perhaps, but it's still one that I found to be reasonably successful. Dupea himself is a confused, conflicted character - he doesn't have a stable job (apart from the itinerant work he does on the rigs), he doesn't seem to much like his family or his girlfriend, and he's one of cinema's confused characters, I've no doubt about that. But perhaps that's so interesting about the film. He tends to walk away from his problems rather than confront them head-on.
Nicholson gives a solid performance; Black and the others aren't anything special but they're still reasonably competent. Of course, the diner scene is the most famous, and it's terrific, but the piano-playing on the truck scene is also great. This film is full of memorable scenes.
This isn't a 'happy' film - Nicholson's character is essentially a self-hating misogynist, and he's not the sort of character you automatically like. However, I think that's part of the film's appeal in some ways. I reckon it's one that you get more from with multiple watches. I also think there's some well-positioned humour throughout, and not just in the obvious diner scene.
Overall, Rafelson does a solid job with the film. It's well-made, and reasonably enjoyable, but I'm not convinced yet that it's great rather than just good. It's certainly the latter, but I think it may become a favourite of mine if I give it another concentrated watch or two. An interesting character study.
Quotes
[Bobby wants plain toast, which isn't on the menu]
Bobby: I'd like an omelet, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce. And a cup of coffee.
Waitress: A #2, chicken salad sand. Hold the butter, the lettuce, the mayonnaise, and a cup of coffee. Anything else?
Bobby: Yeah, now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules.
Waitress: You want me to hold the chicken, huh?
Bobby: I want you to hold it between your knees.
Catherine: You're a strange person, Robert. I mean, what will you come to? If a person has no love for himself, no respect for himself, no love of his friends, family, work, something - how can he ask for love in return? I mean, why should he ask for it?
Palm Apodaca: People. Animals are not like that. They're always cleaning themselves. Did you ever see, umm... pigeons? Well, he's always picking on himself and his friends. They're always picking bugs out of their hair all the time. Monkeys too. Except they do something out in the open that I don't go for.
Trivia
Jack Nicholson wrote some of his own lines for the monologue Bobby says to his father.
"Five Easy Pieces" refers to a book of piano lessons for beginners.
The traffic jam on the freeway was shot on a new and unopened section of Interstate 5 near Bakersfield, Ca.
Trailer
Director: Bob Rafelson
Cast overview: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black
Running time: 98 minutes
Bob Rafelson's 1970 film stars Jack Nicholson as Robert Eroica Dupea, an upper-class drop-out who becomes a drifter working on oil rigs. It's a fairly bleak film, and one without a clear message, perhaps, but it's still one that I found to be reasonably successful. Dupea himself is a confused, conflicted character - he doesn't have a stable job (apart from the itinerant work he does on the rigs), he doesn't seem to much like his family or his girlfriend, and he's one of cinema's confused characters, I've no doubt about that. But perhaps that's so interesting about the film. He tends to walk away from his problems rather than confront them head-on.
Nicholson gives a solid performance; Black and the others aren't anything special but they're still reasonably competent. Of course, the diner scene is the most famous, and it's terrific, but the piano-playing on the truck scene is also great. This film is full of memorable scenes.
This isn't a 'happy' film - Nicholson's character is essentially a self-hating misogynist, and he's not the sort of character you automatically like. However, I think that's part of the film's appeal in some ways. I reckon it's one that you get more from with multiple watches. I also think there's some well-positioned humour throughout, and not just in the obvious diner scene.
Overall, Rafelson does a solid job with the film. It's well-made, and reasonably enjoyable, but I'm not convinced yet that it's great rather than just good. It's certainly the latter, but I think it may become a favourite of mine if I give it another concentrated watch or two. An interesting character study.
Quotes
[Bobby wants plain toast, which isn't on the menu]
Bobby: I'd like an omelet, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce. And a cup of coffee.
Waitress: A #2, chicken salad sand. Hold the butter, the lettuce, the mayonnaise, and a cup of coffee. Anything else?
Bobby: Yeah, now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich, and you haven't broken any rules.
Waitress: You want me to hold the chicken, huh?
Bobby: I want you to hold it between your knees.
Catherine: You're a strange person, Robert. I mean, what will you come to? If a person has no love for himself, no respect for himself, no love of his friends, family, work, something - how can he ask for love in return? I mean, why should he ask for it?
Palm Apodaca: People. Animals are not like that. They're always cleaning themselves. Did you ever see, umm... pigeons? Well, he's always picking on himself and his friends. They're always picking bugs out of their hair all the time. Monkeys too. Except they do something out in the open that I don't go for.
Trivia
Jack Nicholson wrote some of his own lines for the monologue Bobby says to his father.
"Five Easy Pieces" refers to a book of piano lessons for beginners.
The traffic jam on the freeway was shot on a new and unopened section of Interstate 5 near Bakersfield, Ca.
Trailer