Pure Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (1 April 2009)

Chinatown is a masterpiece...plain and simple. It is a one of a kind film that is without flaw. I'm sure some would argue with me, but in my honest opinion it is a perfect work of art. The direction by master-class helmsman Roman Polanski is incredible, creating demanding images and performances by those involved. Jack Nicholson as the against-type private detective Jake J. Gittes depicts a hero that none have seen before or after. Faye Dunaway is in an unrivaled performance as Evelyn Mulwray, a mysterious beauty who hides a lot more than she can handle. Really, though, John Huston manages to become a scene-stealer as the vile aristocrat Noah Cross, who creates a villain so memorable, it puts so many to shame. The story by Robert Towne is crafted with great precision and pacing, using the water scandal of Los Angeles in the 1910's and 20's as a backdrop to the main story. Gittes is approached by a woman claiming to be Evelyn Mulwray (Diane Ladd) and asks him to investigate her husband, Hollis Mulwray, the city's chief engineer of the water department. After a bit of small sleuthing and following Mulwray, he catches him with a blonde and the photographs he's taken become a treasure for the press. In steps the real Evelyn Mulwray (Dunaway), who threatens to sue Gittes for his investigation into her husband, which she didn't warrant. Unfortunately several days later, Hollis is found dead in the reservoir and thus begins the investigation as to who framed him and killed Hollis Mulwray. Usually in the hands of any other director or writer, this could've turned into a run-of-the-mill whodunit, but Towne's scripts adds so many unexpected twists and turns throughout the story, leading the audience to unexpected places. Evelyn's shocking revelation is just one of the great surprises that bombards the viewer. The thing that really brings the film together, though, is the ending. Towne had something much more upbeat in mind, but Polanski, who had gone through a great trauma 5 years before the film's production, decided a more human ending was necessary, which makes the film so much greater. "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown," will ring in the viewers ears even after the credits have rolled. Ah, I almost forgot to mention Jerry Goldsmith's score, which brings the film a great atmosphere, much akin to that of The Maltese Falcon, another great crime-noir (which was directed by John Huston.). In concluding I say that Chinatown is pure cinema. And I mean PURE CINEMA. You just can't get any better with Chinatown.