who to believe?

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2008)

'Chinatown' is a rare achievement- it manages to update a classic 1940's film genre without ruining it, in this case the hardboiled private investigator/film noir genre. Not only does it not ruin it or turn it into a big in-joke for cinema buffs, 'Chinatown' actually expands on the formula to include elements that would not have been possible or acceptable in that earlier time. The basic plot does not sound all that enticing (private eye investigates water usage scandal) but that is really just the jumping off mark for a number of strange subplots, each one more bizarre than the previous. In best film noir fashion, characters are not who they seem to be, major plot points shrink in significance while seemingly minor ones prove vitally important. The man trying to unravel the whole caper, as they say, is Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), a private dick who usually specializes in smaller and more mundane cases, like marital infidelity. Before he knows it, Gittes is in over his head but he doesn't like being played for the fool, so he determines to find the truth no matter where it leads. What director Roman Polanski and writer Robert Towne end up with is a sort of revved-up, R-rated '70's combination of 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'The Big Sleep.' They keep all the conventions (the requisite opening scene where a mysterious woman shows up and hires the p.i., etc.) then elaborate on them and ultimately create some new ones. It's all great fun to watch and confusing as hell at times. John Huston plays Noah Cross, a wealthy monster of a man, whose evil isn't completely apparent till late in the film. Faye Dunaway is the femme fatale, Evelyn Mulwray, who hardly ever gives Gittes a truthful answer about anything (think Mary Astor in 'Maltese Falcon'). Towne's script is full of great dialogue and intriguing situations. Famously, he and Polanski feuded over the ending; Towne wanted a satisfactory resolution, Polanski, a downbeat one. The director won out. I don't think a 'happy ending' would have ruined the film, but the conclusion they used is certainly unforgettable. And now, of course, it's almost impossible to imagine 'Chinatown' ending any other way.