Carnal Knowledge: men who think they desire women

Carnal Knowledge is rightly considered Mike Nichols' best work. It can be said that it is a chronicle that sensitively reflects the patterns of sexuality, focusing on the feelings and desires that led to the so-called sexual revolution of the 60s.

At the beginning of the movie, two friends, Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) and Sandy (Art Garfunkel), argue in the dark to the Moonlight Serenade arrangements. They talk about loving and being loved and about the type of women they would like to have by their side: sexy without being a prostitute, intelligent, understanding, tall and with big tits.

The inseparable friends go to a college mixer, a closed party where boys and girls met at American campuses in the 1940s. There they discover what can be the "dream woman" of both: Susan (Candice Bergen), who is "given" by Jonathan to Sandy. The latter, however, fails to take the initiative with the girl.

Susan starts the conversation with Sandy, and they are soon dating. Although shy, the boy tries to advance in caresses and, when the girl agrees with some advances, he tells everything to his friend Jonathan, including that Susan finds him sexy. It's the password for him to make an appointment with his friend's girlfriend.

Susan meets Jonathan, the two soon get involved and have sex. As usual, Jonathan runs to tell his friend about his first time (of course, he doesn't reveal his partner's name). This fact makes Sandy obsessed with the idea of having sex, and Susan, reluctantly, gives in to the boy's wishes.

Now it's Jonathan, in love with Susan, who despairs because he wants Susan to reveal to Sandy that she was having an affair with him. She doesn't want to hurt her boyfriend's feelings, doesn't tell anything, and forbids Jonathan to do so. They break up, and Susan and Sandy end up getting married.

Jules Feiffer's screenplay is purposefully economical and polarized as if to characterize the childlike way in which the two friends treat women. After this prologue, the story follows the experiences of Jonathan and Sandy for about two decades, showing their disappointments, separations, and insecurities.

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