Fair film noir-like mystery thriller.

Rating: 8/10 (6 August 2001)

Fair film noir-like mystery thriller that takes place in L.A. before WW2 and follows the unpredictable trail that private eye Jake Gittes (Jake Nicholson) takes and eventually caught up in a mess over water. What kept me from really enjoying the movie is that director Roman Polanski chose the pace to be slow as maple syrup. Despite that flaw, I found a few aspects of the film (cinematography, acting, musical score, etc.) to be fascinating and impressive. Faye Dunaway is okay as the wealthy widow who Gittes falls for. Film legend John Huston is clever here as Noah Cross, a shady and wise millionaire who asks Gittes to find his daughter's only child. Even Polanski appears in the movie as a dwarfish hoodlum who uses a knife to leave a cut on Jake's nose. Robert Towne won an Oscar for his screenplay. "CHINATOWN" isn't great as I thought it would be, but I was satisfied to say the least.