Five Easy Pieces (1970)

The irony of some films lies in their titles. If ‘A Streetcar named Desire’ reflected Blanche Dubois’ ill-fated quest for love, ‘Five Easy Pieces’ profiles the difficulty of a man who is growingly uncomfortable in the adopted skin of a blue collared worker, that belies a privileged musical upbringing.

Bobby Dupea works in a California oil field and lives in with a waitress girlfriend. Nothing wrong with the stereotype, but a close examination reveals that Bobby is trying on a different suit. One that takes him away from what he was born into and grew up in. His increasing frustration at his girlfriend’s unsuccessful attempts at improving her musical abilities and her narrow vision of having his kids is met with sad news that his father has had a stroke and might not survive longer. He reluctantly decides to make a trip to his hometown, where he finds a temporary promise, but a longer lasting realization: he hadn’t found his place in the world.

The story of the film is unlike your typical plot, where good _does_ triumph over evil or the protagonist _does_ overcome the obstacles to achieve his objective. In movies like this, it is the inner journey of the character that is brought out and towards the end, he has moved from point A to B, but there is no certainty that he has found what he was looking for. Bobby is boiling over and it is just a matter of time. Everything around him is something that he has left behind or something that doesn’t fit him. Carole Eastman and Bob Rafelson’s writing provide some thoughtful moments brought to life by Rafelson’s direction. The music of the film is well embellished with Chopin, Bach & Mozart.

This is one of Jack Nicholson’s landmark films, one that underlined the quality of his acting. Dupea’s two-layered existence is never in your face, but eased on you like a fragrance, over time and smoothly. His ultimate admission to his ailing father on his inner struggles and his way of looking at life is probably one of the best scenes you could see on film. He was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. Karen Black is extremely convincing as the waitress-girlfriend, who serves as grim reminder to Bobby on his impending ordinary future with her.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ is a wonderful depiction of discomfort with one’s place in the world.