FIVE EASY PIECES (1970) **1/2 I like the classical/country music dialectic, and there's probably never been a more appropriate film star to stick in the middle of it than Jack Nicholson. I disagree with the commonly held position that he elevated a lousy script into a cinematic masterpiece because (1) I don't think it ever reaches the level of cinematic masterpiece, and (2) the script does give him some very nice lines to work with (and Susan Anspach, too). There's no denying that it's a strange and wonderful performance bringing any sense of sympathy towards that character, and who would have ever thought that Karen Black could be so effective as a trailerpark waitness. Those who demand an intricate plot of bound to be unimpressed, but for those whom moodiness, irony in shots and mannerisms, and characters worthy of pondering hours after the fact are sufficient, there's probably about as much here as most any place else. My problem is more that I'm offended having to ponder them to even the extent of the movie: I understand that there's humanity in even the darkest most wasted and abused souls, I'd rather ponder dogs, or the backs of baseball cards or babies singing or blades of grass in the wind... I like to be happy, and I prefer to believe that there's a point to it all.
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