But Robert, it turns out, does not have redneck genes. His family, the Dupeas, is well-to-do, and his siblings, like himself, were trained as children to be musical prodigies. Indeed, his kindly but awkward sister Partita (Lois Smith), and his affable but elitist brother Carl (Ralph Waite) make their livings as classical musicians. Both still live at home, with their elderly father Nicholas (William Challee), recently incapacitated by a stroke.
Robert journeys to visit his family, and reluctantly takes Rayette along. On the way, Robert encounters two possibly lesbian drifters (Toni Basil and Helena Kallianiotes), along with a regimental waitress destined to make temperamental Robert blow his fuse.
Robert conceals Rayette at a nearby hotel before visiting his family. There, he finds two other recent arrivals: Spicer (John P. Ryan), a muscular caregiver, and Catherine, Carl's liberated fiancée. Within days, Robert and Catherine begin an affair, but she will never fall in love with him.
How others will see it. Five Easy Pieces was not a box office smash, and was mostly ignored by foreign film festivals. Nonetheless, American critics were pleased. It was nominated for four Oscars and five Golden Globes, all in major categories.
But in a big year for Patton, Five Easy Pieces won only one of those trophies: Karen Black's tie for the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe, shared with Maureen Stapleton in Airport. Karen Black, like Jack Nicholson, had a supporting role in the cult classic Easy Rider. Bob Rafelson, the present film's director and producer, also served as a producer for Easy Rider.
It must be remembered that the cast was fairly obscure in 1970, although Nicholson and Black eventually became stars, while Fannie Flagg, Sally Struthers, and Ralph Waite became familiar faces to television viewers. Toni Basil, who has an amusing segment as a chronic complainer, would top the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 with "Mickey."
How I felt about it. Director Bob Rafelson started his film career as a writer. By the mid-1960s, he was also a producer, and scored big with The Monkees. He was a natural candidate to direct their unstructured film Head (1968), which attempted to make the made-for-television band hip just as it was falling apart.
Rafelson moved on to a more promising project: the acting career of Jack Nicholson. He had
a cameo in Head, a supporting role in Easy Rider, and starred in Five Easy
Pieces, as well as three future Rafelson-directed films, The King of Marvin
Gardens, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Blood and Wine.
Black Widow, which did not have Nicholson, at least made money, and Mountains of
the Moon is actually a good movie. Still, one has to look hard throughout Rafelson's
career to find any evidence why Five Easy Pieces is as great as it is. It appears
that the directorial style was greatly influenced by Easy Rider, made the year
before and a great success, both commercially and critically.
Many scenes exist solely to build character, and Rafelson is no hurry to get anywhere. The film is half over before Nicholson's restless character gets to the Dupea family home. Even there, he is killing time, and would have left within days were it not for the challenge of conquest posed by Catherine.
The plot, then, is much less interesting than the situations, which showcase Robert's relationships with others. Robert antagonizes everyone sooner or later. He argues with his best friend, Elton, then fights two strangers on his behalf. He is torn between accepting or abandoning his pregnant, stupid, and clinging girlfriend. He enjoys his affair with Catherine but it proves nothing more than an amusement for her.
Robert is selfish, impulsive, and self-destructive, but has a capacity to rebound. He was raised as an intellectual, but in spirit he is a day laborer, which gives him the freedom of movement and rebirth. He is the black sheep of the family, but is unwilling to break with them permanently. In short, he is a man of contradictions, but perhaps less edgy and dangerous than he appears.