Bob Rafelson’s New Hollywood road drama has been my favourite film for almost a decade, and I can’t see that changing anytime soon. When you think of “Jack Nicholson”, his performances in The Shining (1980), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), and A Few Good Men (1992) are probably what come to mind. I can’t argue that these aren’t fantastic films with seminal performances from Nicholson, but they pale in comparison to his portrayal of Bobby Dupea in Five Easy Pieces (1970), an understated ’70s gem directed by the guy who created The Monkees.
Nicholson storms through a turbulent post-Vietnam USA as the musical prodigy turned-oil-rig-worker, desperate to escape his bourgeois upbringing but dissatisfied with his working-class life. Unable to find happiness in bowling, drinking, womanising, or his girlfriend Rayette (played by a superb Karen Black, who was nominated alongside Nicholson for an Oscar), Dupea decides to embark on a cross-country journey to visit his dying father. However, a return to his affluent upbringing in a family of classical musicians only torments him further.
The film feels constantly on the brink of collapse; every outburst of anger, of which there are many, makes for an increasingly unsettling watch. It is these outbursts that the film is best known for; from him barking at a dog during a traffic jam, to his argument with a waitress over the breakfast menu (by far the film’s most famous scene), the audience becomes trained to highly anticipate Nicholson’s final meltdown, which is delivered through an explosive monologue at the film’s climax. These moments of rage provide a perfect contrast for the film’s quieter moments, particularly Nicholson’s devastating second monologue to his father, which prepares us for a truly brutal ending.
Many kitchen sink dramas centred on angry, young men tend to lean towards the objectification of their female characters—women are either sexualised or laughed at. I believe the use of a female screenwriter in such a film was incredibly necessary, and Carole Eastman does a fantastic job of writing female characters with enough sensitivity to allow for a nuanced criticism of misogyny. Indeed, the Dupea family functions as a symbol of the chauvinism prevalent in Hollywood at the time; they ridicule the blue-collar Rayette for her appearance and anti-intellectualism in a way reminiscent of a protagonist in a Woody Allen film.
The film feels constantly on the brink of collapse
Only this time, the joke is not at her expense, but a lens to highlight the elitism of those who demean her. Although nominated for four Academy Awards, Five Easy Pieces has remained a little-talked-about touchstone of American cinema. It’s simplistic but wretchedly affecting, to the point that I couldn’t imagine another film topping it.
If you like character studies, it would be hard to find anything half as memorable as Jack Nicholson’s haunting performance as Bobby Dupea.