Five Easy Pieces is a cinematic poem that reverberates with the quiet, inescapable ache of modern loneliness. This 1970 classic transcends the boundaries of narrative cinema to deliver an unflinching portrait of disconnection, alienation, and the elusive search for meaning in a world indifferent to the human soul. It is, without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful, searing explorations of utter existential despair ever captured on film. Jack Nicholson plays Robert Dupea with raw authenticity. Every gesture, every glance, every line of dialogue feels like a window into the hollowed chambers of a fractured spirit. His performance is a tour de force of controlled chaos and suppressed rage, and at the same time it shows in his character a heartbreaking vulnerability. This film deserves nothing less than a perfect 100% rating from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it seems that true artistry often goes unrecognized in our time.

This is one film that should have received a 100% fresh critics' rating.

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I just can't stand Jack Nicholson. He's my bete noir of actors. Just his face, his smirk, his voice, I can;t look or listen. I hate him. On top of that this is a meandering piece that I couldn't remotely engage with or care about. It sits on many best films lists but I have no idea why. I was counting down the minutes until it ended. Painful. Watched it on DVD.

This classic antihero drama is amazing for the acting alone. Leaves me sad & desolate as it ends. I was around in 1970 but had forgotten the impact of this film.

I wanna hold it between my knees.

Over 50 years later this was Jack Nicholson’s entrance into the American consciousness of cinema with the counterculture Nicholson stars next to Karen Black and Susan Anspach as Robert, who started as a classical pianist but strives more for a blue collar position on an oil field Black is his girlfriend Rayette who’s a waitress egging him to open up about his feelings but he's a bit more verbally abusive towards her as well as emotionally He’s probably not satisfied with his working class lifestyle Finding his father sick Robert he decides to go back to his relatives to reconnect with him but he also runs into his other girlfriend Katherine played by Anspach With Rayette at his side during the drive life starts to change for him drastically The veil is then lifted to show what truly lies beneath all the macho behavior Robert has displayed, he definitely shows the association with the hippie movement with a hint of misogyny, rage, and care-free demeanor, that's actually pretty amazing in the first couple minutes we get a clear idea of what Robert is, he's a prick but a relatable one at that who's abandoned his past passions This movie gels well with our current obsessions with social class and constructs, with personal identity, along with a complete rejection of society norms that we’ve been taught to accept without question It even foretells the environmental crisis, one of the rare movies that undergoes new style and subject matter breaking taboos and conventions people are filthy it may be what's actually wrong with people, some of us don't live to tell one another how much better the other half lives, filth is bad that's what starts maggots and riots, if a person has no love for himself, no respect, no love of his friends, family, work, something – how can he ask for love in return?, who has the gall to say what anything about class, who has it or what society we belong to? Nicholson is a dime a dozen in his first big breakout role and it should be recognized more today than it ever was with its relevant levels of morality this is a stupendously acted work of art from a period of filmmaking that showed such massive change

A subtly subversive film, about a broken enigma of a man, and the wake of emotional damage he leaves behind. The atmosphere of Five Easy Pieces is at times very charming, with country music, and Karen Black lending an authentic blue collar vibe. Beautiful cinematography, with many sunset and sunrise shots of natural landscapes, provides a good backdrop for an excellent acting performance from Jack Nicholson, whose character development, or, at times, lack of character development, is the real star of the film. When he transitions from his mean and rugged roughneck persona to his elegant and arrogant musician persona upon visiting home, his talents are on full display, with even subtle mannerisms being different.

A little slow. But the Tammy Wynette music is great. And Sally Struthers nude!

It's Jack Nicholson what more could you ask for? This actor was nominated 12 times for the academy award and won three times.

One of the best Acting Performances I've ever seen by Jack Nicholson and one of the best performances in general. This is a rich character study film about someone with so much potential but isn't able to fit in with society and use it. The main character is filled with multi layers of complexity and flaws that make it very engaging to watch. The pacing and editing are very well done, along with beautifully done cinematography. That being said the ending I felt did not reward the investment and live up to the quality of the rest of the film. It felt very underwhelming and while I understand the reasoning for it as it does fit in to the overall theme of the film, I felt it could have been executed at a much higher level as the rest of the film is and feels tacked on. A New Hollywood Classic and one of Jack Nicholson's best performances. The ending is what keeps this from being a All Time Great.

Five Easy Pieces is the film that made Jack Nicholson a star and promised him a bright career. The film is a character study and one that explored daily life and trying to cope with oneself in this world. Bobby is the central character and the performance Jack Nicholson gives and the identity he searches for are what make the film such a resonating piece of cinema. Recommended!

A remarkable, fascinating movie.

Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) is a classical pianist working on a California oil rig, a drifter trapped in a dead-end relationship, trying to manage a past that he can't escape. When he learns of his estranged father's worsening medical condition, he returns to Washington to confront what he has been running from. Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces offers much more than the iconic restaurant scene for which it known. It is the somber character study of a man unable to find direction in his life and unwilling to establish long-term relationships. The cinematography from Laszlo Kovacs is great, the script is intelligent, and Rafelson's direction is effectively restrained, but the real reason, not surprisingly, to watch Five Easy Pieces is the performance of Jack Nicholson in a remarkable performance from relatively early in his remarkable career.

A great film about people dealing with unfulfilled lives and ethical or moral dilemmas.

Surprisingly bland and aimless.

Jack Nicholson plays one of the most obnoxious characters in any movie ever, but my word is he good at doing so.

Interesting, but ultimately aimless and depressing.

It has been 30 years since I saw last saw the movie. On second view the famous scene where Nicholson orders his lunch looks completely different to me. Now he just looks like a pompous jerk - the sort of guy who complains about wearing a mask at McDonald's. The big scene is basically a failed concert pianist from a rich family yelling at a waitress in a diner. I look at it now and I wonder what the hell did everyone see in this movie in 1970. The lead character abuses just about everyone around him. Yet people saw it 50 years and saw some sort of truth revealed. I see it now and really see self-indulgence and a whiff of misogyny. Perhaps I have changed - I am older - or perhaps what was on the screen was never as compelling as people thought.

A simple story of isolation and wasted talent which I think may go under the radar as the best Jack Nicholson performance ever? The viewer is under constant battle as to how they feel about Nicholson's character - a rather unlikeable protagonist who we warm to as the film progresses. The screenplay is perhaps rushed in places and a few moments such as his fast as lightning relationship with his future sister-in-law, seem unnecessary. Aside from this is pretty tidy in most areas and Nicholson is worth the £1.99 rental fee on Amazon Prime.