Carnal Knowledge

Psychological study of the romantic lives of two males over the course of 25 years

In the late 1940s, Two roommates at Amherst College (Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel) exchange personal info about their sextivities with various women as the years progress to the early ’70s. The female cast includes Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret, Cynthia O'Neal, Carol Kane and Rita Moreno.

“Carnal Knowledge” (1971) is not a conventional look at college life in the manner of the later “Small Circle of Friends” or “The ’70s.” Rather, it’s a sometimes depressing, sometimes amusing chronicling of the evolution and devolution of the sexual lives of two college friends, one a smooth-talking narcissist (Nicholson) and the other a sensitive nice guy (Garfunkel). Their friendship and discussions are reminiscent of Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza in the 90s, just more edgy and not as funny.

When released, the counterculture revolution of the late 60s was still fresh and nudity was the hip thang, which explains the skinny-dipping sequence in "Woodstock" and, a year later, the nudity in this flick and "The Last Picture Show,” as well as the soon-to-come "Stigma" and “The Harrad Experiment.” Of course, nudity in mainstream movies was nothing new in light of the pre-Hays era, as observed by "Tarzan and His Mate" from 1934. With the code lifted after almost three decades, movies like this seemed to exult in a new sense of libertine freedom. Whilst risqué and cutting edge at the time, it's just a quirky adult-oriented drama today.

Nicholson has his likable smirk, as usual, but as the story progresses his character becomes increasingly distasteful and pathetic. Reflect on where he ends up; it’s a powerful point. Garfunkel’s character isn’t anywhere as bad, but he also becomes somewhat pitiable. “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

Although the story is sometimes tedious and there are distasteful elements, the cast is great and the psychological insights interesting.

It runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in New York City and at Panorama Film Studios in Vancouver.

GRADE: B-