Several things is very clear in watching "Carnal Knowledge again from start to finish. It is not the type of film that everybody will like equally. It has dated ideals and concepts about what men are like and what men like and what men expect. It has little respect for the two leading characters, Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel, who wouldn't be able to sustain a single relationship for more than a decade. Nicholson is the more amoral of the two, spending one key scene with a slide projector showing all of his lovers since childhood. It is an absurd scene not only because it removes any sympathy you may have gained for him, but how would he have pictures of all these people over the years let alone put them into a slideshow?
One definite detail is also clear from watching this film from start to finish. Garfunkel seems to age naturally, but Nicholson looks exactly the same from his college years (ridiculously so in those scenes) to his mid-to-late 30's in the early 1970's. Garfunkel definitely gained a bit more sympathy because his character seems to truly want a great woman, but after the first half, he seems to begin to emulate Nicholson's desire for girlfriend after girlfriend after girlfriend. None remain the same, and even though he ended up with the gorgeous Candice Bergen after the first half, her character completely disappears as the focus changes to Nicholson and Ann-Margret.
Both of these women are desirable and certainly looking for the right relationship that will sustain them for a lifetime. They want to be cherished and loved and to love back. We get to see the build-up of Garfunkel's relationship with Bergen (briefly interrupted by her fling with Nicholson which doesn't seem to bother Garfunkel), and then she's gone. Nicholson is wining and dining Ann-Margret and soon they are cohabitating together, discussing the rules of relationship that will not include marriage. As time goes by, they are revealed to be married with a daughter, and it is indeed evident that Nicholson never should have made any type of marital vow.
This is not necessarily a bad movie, just a depressing one. You are hoping throughout that Nicholson will grow up but he never seems to change at all other than to become angrier as he ages. Certainly, the performances are excellent, and as a character study, this is highly recommended. Bergen gets to be very subtle and she is greatly missed in the last half. Ann-Margret, who came out of this with the sole Oscar nomination, plays a character who is not only desirable physically but spiritually and emotionally as well and it is sad to watch her be destroyed by the self-centered Jack. It is very evident why she was singled out for the nomination, proving that her beauty isn't only physical but deep inside as well.
As for the others in the cast, there's a very quiet Carol Kane and a shocking cameo by Rita Moreno, coming on for the final scene and getting a monologue you won't soon forget. It is ironic that an earlier scene has Nicholson and Ann-Margret driving through times square past a "West Side Story" marquis. I couldn't determine whether this was supposed to be the movie or the original Broadway show, but I found it quite ironic. This film probably was considered groundbreaking upon its initial release, and some of the elements do hold true today, but watching this film from start to finish after a long hiatus from having seen it last, I felt like I was reliving the memory of having a sledgehammer bang down on my foot, and it's hard to lose a depression after seeing a film again when those memories resurface.
One definite detail is also clear from watching this film from start to finish. Garfunkel seems to age naturally, but Nicholson looks exactly the same from his college years (ridiculously so in those scenes) to his mid-to-late 30's in the early 1970's. Garfunkel definitely gained a bit more sympathy because his character seems to truly want a great woman, but after the first half, he seems to begin to emulate Nicholson's desire for girlfriend after girlfriend after girlfriend. None remain the same, and even though he ended up with the gorgeous Candice Bergen after the first half, her character completely disappears as the focus changes to Nicholson and Ann-Margret.
Both of these women are desirable and certainly looking for the right relationship that will sustain them for a lifetime. They want to be cherished and loved and to love back. We get to see the build-up of Garfunkel's relationship with Bergen (briefly interrupted by her fling with Nicholson which doesn't seem to bother Garfunkel), and then she's gone. Nicholson is wining and dining Ann-Margret and soon they are cohabitating together, discussing the rules of relationship that will not include marriage. As time goes by, they are revealed to be married with a daughter, and it is indeed evident that Nicholson never should have made any type of marital vow.
This is not necessarily a bad movie, just a depressing one. You are hoping throughout that Nicholson will grow up but he never seems to change at all other than to become angrier as he ages. Certainly, the performances are excellent, and as a character study, this is highly recommended. Bergen gets to be very subtle and she is greatly missed in the last half. Ann-Margret, who came out of this with the sole Oscar nomination, plays a character who is not only desirable physically but spiritually and emotionally as well and it is sad to watch her be destroyed by the self-centered Jack. It is very evident why she was singled out for the nomination, proving that her beauty isn't only physical but deep inside as well.
As for the others in the cast, there's a very quiet Carol Kane and a shocking cameo by Rita Moreno, coming on for the final scene and getting a monologue you won't soon forget. It is ironic that an earlier scene has Nicholson and Ann-Margret driving through times square past a "West Side Story" marquis. I couldn't determine whether this was supposed to be the movie or the original Broadway show, but I found it quite ironic. This film probably was considered groundbreaking upon its initial release, and some of the elements do hold true today, but watching this film from start to finish after a long hiatus from having seen it last, I felt like I was reliving the memory of having a sledgehammer bang down on my foot, and it's hard to lose a depression after seeing a film again when those memories resurface.