Five Easy Pieces

R

Released Sep 12, 1970

1 hr. 36 min.

Drama

List

89%

55 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Rejecting his cultured upper-class background as a classical pianist, Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) opts for a blue-collar existence, working in a California oil field and spending time with his waitress girlfriend, Rayette (Karen Black). But when Robert discovers that his father is gravely ill, he wants to reunite with his estranged family in the state of Washington. He and Rayette take a road trip that brings the two paths of his life to an uncomfortable intersection.

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Critics Consensus

An important touchstone of the New Hollywood era, Five Easy Pieces is a haunting portrait of alienation that features one of Jack Nicholson's greatest performances.

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Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

Full Review

Leaburn O

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.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

Georgan G

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/24

Full Review

jeanieforever

I wanna hold it between my knees.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/13/23

Full Review

Henry M

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/23

Full Review

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Bob Rafelson

Director

Jack Nicholson

Robert Eroica Dupea

Karen Black

Rayette Dipesto

Susan Anspach

Catherine Van Oost

Billy Green Bush

Elton

Fannie Flagg

Stoney

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Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Hold the Chicken

1:39

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - No Inner Feeling

1:55

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - You Pompous Celibate!

2:01

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Betty & Twinky

1:26

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - I'm Fine

2:12

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Half a Conversation

2:11

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - The Easiest Piece

2:11

Five Easy Pieces: Official Clip - Freeway Performance

2:10

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Edward Guthmann

San Francisco Chronicle

If the function of art is to help an audience feel less alone, then Five Easy Pieces succeeds beautifully.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 4, 2019

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Village Voice

A very modern film. Elliptical, absurdist, harshly humorous, convulsively lyrical.

Nov 18, 2017

Full Review

Noel Murray

The Dissolve

Director Bob Rafelson attempts something unusual here, making a film that's subtle about its meaning without ever ranging into the pretentiously oblique or merely ambiguous.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 1, 2015

Full Review

Fico Cangiano

CineXpress Podcast

Jack Nicholson delivers one of this best performances in James Foley's simplistic, yet powerful and effective character study. A key example of the American New wave. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/5

Aug 31, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

If 'Easy Rider' is the epitaph for the sixties, 'Five Easy Pieces' ushers in the silver age of personal filmmaking in the seventies. It’s a silent scream of alienation and narcissism with a revelatory performance by Nicholson...

Aug 19, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A moody study on alienation, class status and dropping-out.

Rated: B+

Jun 22, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

Rejecting his cultured upper-class background as a classical pianist, Robert Dupea (Jack Nicholson) opts for a blue-collar existence, working in a California oil field and spending time with his waitress girlfriend, Rayette (Karen Black). But when Robert discovers that his father is gravely ill, he wants to reunite with his estranged family in the state of Washington. He and Rayette take a road trip that brings the two paths of his life to an uncomfortable intersection.

Director: Bob Rafelson
Executive Producer: Bert Schneider
Screenwriter: Carole Eastman, Bob Rafelson
Distributor: Columbia Pictures, Criterion Collection
Production Co: BBS Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1970, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012

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