Carnal Knowledge

Director Mike Nichols's provocative film, based on a Jules Feiffer script about the changes in America's sexual mores over the course of the three decades, chronicles the bitter experiences of two middle-class American males. Jonathan (Jack Nicholson), a cruel but charismatic misogynist, and Sandy (Art Garfunkel), a bland idealist, meet as roommates at a small New England college in the 1940s. As their friendship progresses through the following decades, their search for the ideal woman leads to failed marriages, bad relationships, and emotional emptiness.
Nichols is particularly adept at negotiating the kind of psychological minefield presented in CARNAL KNOWLEDGE. Nicholson is fascinating to watch, but the supporting women, including Candice Bergen and Ann-Margret, supply the soul. Nichols uses a shadowy film noir technique that underscores the movie's exploration of the uncertainty in relationships and also employs long close-ups that offer the characters no room to prevaricate in his bleak vision of men, women, and romance.