Anyone who is fairly familiar with my interests will no doubt find it
strikingly odd that I should choose a movie in which Art Garfunkel was
involved to stand as the worst Valentine film I can think of. There are
others, I am sure, but the irony is too good to let go here. My favorite
singer, whose romantic ballads could sweep a girl off her feet, is also
partly responsible for this film that I find so utterly un-romantic. I
have thought about reviewing it for some time, but I have been too
reluctant to plaster two stars on anything involving Garfunkel. I'm
casting off my inhibitions now, and if Mr. Garfunkel ever would happen
to read this, I apologize. I can only say that he is not the reason that
this movie failed in my eyes.
Just the name of the movie, Carnal Knowledge,
gives a pretty good idea of what the movie?s driving theme will be. The
movie focuses on two men, whom we meet as college roommates in the
1940s. Sandy (Garfunkel) is a doe-eyed idealist, naive and clumsy around
girls but searching for a meaningful relationship. Jonathan (Jack
Nicholson) is world wise and rather vicious. His charm wins the ladies
over, but his abrasiveness causes them to leave him.
The
beginning of the film details Sandy's pursuit of Susan (Candace Bergen)
and his eventual triumph. There are some really cute scenes here of
Sandy trying to woo her and having no idea how to do it. Susan
eventually takes pity on him and agrees to be with him, but soon
afterwards she becomes involved with Jonathan. This is apparently the
first truly satisfying relationship Jonathan has ever had. He actually
enjoys talking to Susan and spending time with her. Sandy doesn't
realize that Susan is doing double duty, and he never finds out because
Jonathan isn't quite as big a rat as he appears. He breaks it off with
Susan for Sandy's sake, and Sandy and Susan get married.
Well,
now Jonathan's in a pickle, but we figure he'll find someone else in no
time. Meanwhile, at least we know Sandy and Susan will live happily
ever after...or do we? Unfortunately, this is not what happens. Several
years down the line, we see Sandy complaining to Jonathan about his
unfulfilling romantic life with his wife. Eventually Sandy stops
mentioning her, and next time we see him he?s with someone else.
Jonathan, meanwhile, finds a new flame in Bobbie, a role for which
Ann-Margret received an Academy Award nomination. Their life together
begins happily, but it soon deteriorates. He is never around, and when
he is, he?s abusive. The once vivacious and beautiful Bobbie spends her
days sleeping and drunk.
The film progresses. and Jonathan and
Sandy grow older and older and still find no satisfaction. Jonathan's
attitude seems to have influenced the initially guileless Sandy, and he
comes more and more to expect from his relationships something which
cannot be attained. Jonathan, meanwhile, drives Bobbie to a suicide
attempt and is guilted into marrying her, but he is still miserable, and
the movie ends with him at a sex therapist.
This is a movie
about two old friends who helped ruin each other's lives. It is more
about the attitudes of certain men towards intimacy, and how both
extremes are ultimately unsuccessful. Nichols has taken the aimlessness
which he sought to portray in The Graduate and taken it one step further. Obviously he was trying to make a point, but if I was slightly befuddled by The Graduate, I found Carnal Knowledge
downright baffling. The story becomes confused and unclear after the
friends leave college. Susan simply disappears and we never see any
mention of her again except when Jonathan accidentally includes her
picture in a slideshow of women he has slept with.
This is
definitely not a children's movie. There is quite a bit of nudity, for
rather obvious purposes. The language is filthy. Probably half the
dialogue would be blocked out by the Epinions censors! There is some
violence, with Jonathan as the perpetrator. These same things added to
my discomfort with the film. It's a terribly depressing movie; it would
certainly put a damper on a romantic Valentine's Day evening. And it
simply lacks the congruity that I seek in a film. I really have no
complaints about the acting. I think all four major characters were
portrayed well by their actors. But I thought the script didn't give
them much to work with, at least after the college segment. If you're an
avid fan of one of the people involved (that was why I saw it), it's
worth it to rent it just to say that you saw it. But I wouldn't set my
hopes too high.
No comments:
Post a Comment