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Some mild SPOILERS perhaps?
The burden of expectations is something that can be stressful or suffocating to many. Others expect so much from us by who are our parents or our siblings, by how we we're raised or what we studied, or for many other reasons. But what if we can't handle that burden, or we don't *want* that burden? That seems to be the case with Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson), who openly rejects his past as he runs away from everything, anything in this wonderful piece of New Hollywood.
Five Easy Pieces follows Dupea, a former child piano prodigy who has chosen to get away from that life and instead lives as a blue collar oil rig worker. However, his past comes back to haunt him when he finds out that his father, a musical genius himself, is dying forcing him to go back to the things he has tried so hard to get away from.
As the film progresses, we slowly find out little details about Bobby's past, or at least we can infer them. Rafelson does a great job of not giving us big expository dumps, but rather lets the story and the visuals tell it all. If you walk in blind, you won't find out about Bobby's past until halfway through. When you do, you can infer most of what you need to know about Bobby's father, his siblings, their upbringing, and the burden of expectations that was probably put on them, and from which Bobby has chosen to get away instead.
But the past always has a way of coming back to us, whether is by stumbling upon a piano in the middle of a traffic jam or at your childhood home. Those are the only two moments we see Bobby play the piano. The first time, he embraces it in an almost manic outpour; the second one, he plays it to make a point about superficiality, and quickly dismisses it and rejects it.
Bobby is a character hard to pin down. He's not entirely a likeable guy, but as the film unfolds, you can see all the complexities and layers beneath, and Nicholson plays him to perfection. I mean, it's not far from what he usually plays – a mixture of cynical and bitter – and I'm still trying to figure out the scope of his motivations, but he does it so well. And when the last act comes, you can see the subtlety and nuance when he drops his defenses.
The title of the film comes from a book of piano lessons that includes "five easy pieces" for beginners. I'm not sure what specific pieces it includes, or if any of the two songs we see Bobby play are on that book, but I suppose it is expected of musicians to move beyond the "easy pieces" as a sign of "progress". But not Bobby. His choice is not necessarily to choose an easier way, just a different one altogether. To step away from the burden of expectations into a place where they don't expect much of him, if at all.
Grade:
FIVE EASY PIECES
(1970, Rafelson)
A film with the word "Five" in its title
(1970, Rafelson)
A film with the word "Five" in its title
"I move around a lot, not because I'm looking for anything really, but 'cause I'm getting away from things that get bad if I stay."
Some mild SPOILERS perhaps?
The burden of expectations is something that can be stressful or suffocating to many. Others expect so much from us by who are our parents or our siblings, by how we we're raised or what we studied, or for many other reasons. But what if we can't handle that burden, or we don't *want* that burden? That seems to be the case with Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson), who openly rejects his past as he runs away from everything, anything in this wonderful piece of New Hollywood.
Five Easy Pieces follows Dupea, a former child piano prodigy who has chosen to get away from that life and instead lives as a blue collar oil rig worker. However, his past comes back to haunt him when he finds out that his father, a musical genius himself, is dying forcing him to go back to the things he has tried so hard to get away from.
As the film progresses, we slowly find out little details about Bobby's past, or at least we can infer them. Rafelson does a great job of not giving us big expository dumps, but rather lets the story and the visuals tell it all. If you walk in blind, you won't find out about Bobby's past until halfway through. When you do, you can infer most of what you need to know about Bobby's father, his siblings, their upbringing, and the burden of expectations that was probably put on them, and from which Bobby has chosen to get away instead.
But the past always has a way of coming back to us, whether is by stumbling upon a piano in the middle of a traffic jam or at your childhood home. Those are the only two moments we see Bobby play the piano. The first time, he embraces it in an almost manic outpour; the second one, he plays it to make a point about superficiality, and quickly dismisses it and rejects it.
Bobby is a character hard to pin down. He's not entirely a likeable guy, but as the film unfolds, you can see all the complexities and layers beneath, and Nicholson plays him to perfection. I mean, it's not far from what he usually plays – a mixture of cynical and bitter – and I'm still trying to figure out the scope of his motivations, but he does it so well. And when the last act comes, you can see the subtlety and nuance when he drops his defenses.
The title of the film comes from a book of piano lessons that includes "five easy pieces" for beginners. I'm not sure what specific pieces it includes, or if any of the two songs we see Bobby play are on that book, but I suppose it is expected of musicians to move beyond the "easy pieces" as a sign of "progress". But not Bobby. His choice is not necessarily to choose an easier way, just a different one altogether. To step away from the burden of expectations into a place where they don't expect much of him, if at all.
Grade: