5. Five Easy Pieces
Another work selected for preservation by the National Congress, and yet Five Easy Pieces isnt one of the more prominently remembered Jack Nicholson films. It was released in 1970 and directed by Bob Rafelson, who went on to direct Nicholson on another two occasions, one of them being in the lusty feature, The Postman Always Rings Twice. The aforementioned film is a notable classic, but Five Easy Pieces has an emotional resonance that even some of big Jacks most revered accomplishments cannot reach. The narrative follows the discontent life of Robert Dupea, a classically trained pianist who comes from a family of well-to-do musicians, though he spends his time working laborious jobs, drinking beer, and chasing women. Robert is abased, though he puts on a front of considerable arrogance as he throws his potential away - that is until he receives a call from home informing him that his estranged father has suffered two strokes and is, more or less, in a vegetative stupor. Deciding to return to where he grew up, Robert is met with harrowing memories of the past and the opening of old wounds, his fragmented relationships with his family still as poignant as ever. Five Easy Pieces received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Original Screenplay, but sadly it did not win any of them. Perhaps it was overshadowed by other candidates, or maybe it was considered too subversive at the time. Whatever the determinants were, Bob Rafelson was able to hold his head high in the knowledge that he had made a picture of real stature. Many can call to mind Jack Nicholsons characters in films like One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, As Good As It Gets, and The Departed, but his performance as Robert Dupea is right up there with finest creations.