To be honest, I did not connect with the majority of this film, well over the first half. I saw a nihilistic character going through life, mostly unsatisfactorily, towards no real end. Things turned, however, when that character had a conversation with his dying father, one-sided because the father was unable to communicate back and even the listening was in question. In the span of this conversation, Nicholson explains his whole life, how he never amounted to anything because he was always moving on. It is an incredibly moving performance, which is essentially a monologue, and it makes the ending decision that much more powerful. His companion, while portrayed as unnecessarily dumb, is left alone, and we have to wonder what will become of her. Unlike him, though, she presents as optimistic and will probably come out okay. On the other hand, Nicholson seems doomed to repeat his constant cycle.
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