I remember my parents would both say what a great actor Jack Nicholson was. Or, you know, is. But it’s easy to forget that because Nicholson, like Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and a host of other older actors, doesn’t always put out the best performances. True, they’re all capable of putting out those great performances, but they largely don’t have to. These are actors often coasting on their rep if they’re even still working. But then there those older movies of theirs, and those show what these guys could do when they were all young and hungry. I’ve seen a lot of them, and it’s not hard to see why Nicholson is as respected an actor as he is.
That’s just my way of saying I found one of his early starring roles, Five Easy Pieces, on The Criterion Channel.
Bobby Dupea (Nicholson) works on an oil field in the California desert. He has a live-in girlfriend in the form of waitress Rayette (Karen Black), an aspiring country singer. Most nights, Bobby goes bowling with Rayette and his buddy Elton (Billy “Green” Bush) where he gets drunk and, when the mood strikes, runs off with some other willing woman. However, when Rayette becomes pregnant and Elton gets arrested, Bobby finds himself a bit adrift. That leads him to go looking for his sister Partitia (Lois Smith), a concert pianist. It turns out Bobby actually was himself a talented classical pianist from a moneyed background. And Partita has a bit of news: Bobby’s estranged father has suffered multiple strokes, he can’t talk anymore, and he may be dying. Bobby has to return home.
Reluctantly taking Rayette along, Bobby encounters various frustrations along the way before he gets home to his family. He does leave Rayette in a motel for the duration, but his family doesn’t seem too bad. The biggest issue is an attraction between Bobby and his brother’s fiancee Catherine (Susan Anspach), plus the inevitable when Rayette finally shows up at the family house. What does Bobby want out of life? Why did he give up his life as a musical prodigy? And why is he so rude to waitresses who won’t bring him toast? This isn’t the sort of movie to give clear answers when an implication will do instead.
Essentially, this is a character study. Bobby Dupea comes from an upperclass background, but he’s trying to live as a working class guy for reasons related to whatever happened between him and his father (William Challee). But for all that Bobby is trying to hide his background, it does have a habit of bubbling to the surface even before he starts to make his trip home. If anything, the point seems to be that Bobby is an ornery cuss who will pick a fight with just about anyone who annoys him. He’s not a good son, brother, or boyfriend, but people seem to care for him anyway. Even when he seems to be doing things to defend Rayette from a snobby family friend, he’s still planning on maybe running off with Catherine. She just won’t despite a mutual attraction because she sees he is a man incapable of love, even for himself.
The highlight of the movie, besides Bobby’s telling off of a waitress who refuses to bring him a substitution for a menu item, is when Bobby finally talks to his father, showing remorse and love while still making it clear he is not the sort of man who will ever stay put or do right by people if he feels cornered. He hates himself enough that he won’t be there for people he loves. He just wants to push people away. And if they won’t take a hint, he’s the man who will run. Nicholson really shines here as a man with a lot of faults and a general refusal to become better. Bobby Dupea may not be a snob posing as a working joe, but it takes an actor of Nicholson’s caliber working at the height of his powers to make that person seem like a relatable human being.
Grade: A
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