Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Directed by Mike Nichols. Starring Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen, Cynthia O’Neal, Rita Moreno. [R]

Caustic examination of the romantic/sexual maneuvers of two male friends at several points in their lives over the course of twenty-plus years. Merciless study depicts its situations and dialogue with frankness (though it has, of course, mellowed with age), but it’s not always convincing, and the characters, who hardly change at all through the years, provide little insight into their psychoses beyond their distasteful shallowness, neuroses and hypocrisies; certain individual scenes work well but they don’t add up to much. Nicholson and Ann-Margret are both very good (their scenes together are often the best), while Garfunkel tackles the more difficult role (passive, weedy, a brand of chauvinism that’s more subtle and “traditional”) with mere adequacy. Stagy film presentation by director Nichols; it was originally written to be a play.

66/100