CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971)
Melodrama in which a shy young man (Art Garfunkel) falls for an intelligent and sexy young woman (Candice Bergen) and keeps his rogue-ish friend (Jack Nicholson) updated about the ups and downs of the conquest. Things get complicated when the rogue-ish friend secrets starts his own relationship with her, each boy satisfying only part of what she wants.
This movie is brutal, dark and very close to home. It doesn’t make me cry; it makes feel ill. This is perhaps my favorite performance from Nicholson. He adds a beautiful dark sorrow to his portrayal of this self-destructive and sadistic man. This Jules Feiffer script is stunningly brilliant and the performances are amazing all around. And Nicholson is seriously sexy. All the actors are, I think. Even Garfunkel has a sexiness to him.
