University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

'Five Easy Pieces' From Two Viewpoints

By Paul Chaplin
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

It seems that everybody likes
"Five Easy Pieces," some even
calling the film one of 1970's best
films. After a second viewing, my
opinion has changed somewhat, but
not enough for me to
wholeheartedly praise the film.
There are, however, many aspects
of the film which are excellent and
entertaining.

Most of the enjoyment in the
film comes from the fine
performances by the entire cast.
Karen Black shows considerable
talent as Rayette, the waitress, and
Susan Anspach is very good in the
minor role of Catherine, a music
student: The best performance is by
Jack Nicholson portraying Bobby
Dupea, the angry young hero of the
film. I hope Nicholson decides to
continue acting, rather than
producing films, for there aren't
enough "young" actors who can
play regional and type roles like be
can.

Bob Rafelson's direction also
looked better during my second
viewing. My only big complaint
concerns the copulation scene with
Nicholson and Sally Struthers. I
think it is a good example of the
disadvantages of a hand held
camera, namely showing jittery
confusion and visual boredom. I did
like the car scenes more the second
time, due to the neat editing as well
as Helena Kallianotes' biting
comments on ecology ("Look at all
this crap!").

Susan Anspach and Jack Nicholson in "Five Easy Pieces"

One other interesting device
used in the film is the use of
Tammy Wynette songs juxtaposed
against Choplin, Mozart and Bach.
Such competition! In the film the
music is to help us distinguish
between the two life styles Bobby
Dupea lives in, and while it isn't a
sign of genius, it is clever and works
well.

On my second visit. I felt I
didn't dislike "Five Easy Pieces" as
much as I disliked Bobby Dupea, or
rather Adrien Joyee's screenplay.
Bobby's background is vague and
mysterious and few hints are given
the audience to establish just who
he was and who he is now. I feel
Miss Joyce should have provided
more material here than she did.

Washington Post critic Gary
Arnold found similarities between
"Five Easy Pieces" and Elia Kazan's
film of "East of Eden." Both deal
with angry young men, who are
revolting against their fathers and
society, but actually do so to seek
love and affection. In "East of
Eden," we've seen James Dean as
Cal being rejected by his father,
played by Raymond Massey. In
"Five Easy Pieces," there is no such
luxury, for Dupea's father is mute
throughout the film. In "Eden," we
heard Massey speak before he lost
the powers of speech, and we could
see and hear why Cal could feel
dejected, whereas Dupea's
bitterness is too broad to accept
without sufficient background
information. When we come to the
reconciliation scenes in the two
films, there is a feeling of
satisfaction in "East of Eden," but
of emptiness in "Five Easy Pieces."

It is the manipulation and
identification with the character of
Dupea that bothers me. Bobby
Dupea is 1970's alienated young
man rejecting one culture and
becoming a hick and calling crap
exactly what it is. Right on
relevance! And, the ultimate
cop-out, Bobby Dupea walks away
from his family, his girl, and society
and slips into a quagmire of self
pity deeper than Oli Barrett's in
"Love Story." As Catherine asks
him, how could anyone like a man
who demands love, yet has no self
respect or love for himself? I will
not enjoy "Five Easy Pieces" until I
can find somebody who dislikes
Bobby Dupea and doesn't idolize
him.

(Now at the University)

***

Elsewhere in town: At the
Barracks Road, James Bond lives
again in the re-releases of
"Thunderball" and "You Only Live
Twice." Downtown, the Paramount
is still featuring "Love Story" while
the Cinema is holding "Brewster
McCloud" for a second week.
Tonight, the Film Production
Union will show two science fiction
films in Wilson Hall. Featured are
"This Island Earth" and Frank
Capra's classic adaptation of James
Hilton's "Lost Horizon." Shows are
at 7 and 10:30, and donations are
requested.

By Robert Nersesian

—Ed.)

"Five Easy Pieces" is about one
person, two pasts, and a lot of
wandering.

We joke a lot about rednecks in
Charlottesville. They are, for a
student, stock villains, comics, and
stooges. Every sophomore has a
choice vignette involving a truck
stop, a bar.

I remember a friend and I once
took a trip to Howardsville,
Virginia. It was raining and we
never did find it. We were going to
date a couple of "country girls"
who worked in the cafeteria. It
turned out there were two
Howardsvilles. We stopped at a long
trailer which contained an old
couple. They seemed practically
Illiterate, judging by their speech.
Yet, on their coffee table were
books by Nabokov and O'Hara.
Who knows why or how?

***

Bobby Dupea works on an oil
rig in the southwest. He is not a
nice guy.

He is a 'neck.

He swaggers and guzzles and
cheats on his girl friend, Rayette. It
is a shabby little world he lives in
and you can see his brim filling. He
does his best to make this flimsy
scaffolding collapse.

He also has his own version of
Nabokov and O'Hara a member
of a gifted family of musicians. The
youngest and most talented, he is
drawn back to this home, the
excuse being to see his ailing father.

But the shabbiness pervades,
made so by a simpering older
brother and a marvelously pedantic
atmosphere.

Words are one of Bobby's big
problems. Rarely can he express the
simple ones, those that can explain
or comfort. His first attempt is
drowned out by car horns; the
second is picked at an inopportune
moment. Finally, he finds the
silence of a grassy field and his
mute father to utter an apology
which is touching in its absolute
simplicity.

There is an indescribable tension
throughout this movie. Jack
Nicholson conveys it so well,
particularly at the climax. It is
standard to analyze an actor's
performance, but this is one I
would rather stay away from and
say "let be." He is so fine that it's
futile to try to peek under the
covers.

Director Bob Rafelson has great
story sense and has put together a
number of complete performances
admirably. But I think there is too
much visual energy. Making the
atmosphere a little more static,
especially around the Dupea
household, might have given a little
better balance. But I'm simply
hacking at stumps.

A legitimate gripe, though,
would be that photographic
director Lazio Kovacs has pulled
out some familiar tricks from his
"Easy Rider" bag. Watch the
opening credits and the panoramic
landscapes.

There is nothing universal about
Robert Eroica Dupea's character.
Yet many of us possess a piece of
the past. We keep it, only for
ourselves. But Dupea's pasts are
opened and he must run. An
ultimate lesson.