ending

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2006)

What I liked most about this movie was how it ended. It wasn't your typical Hollywood ending where the good guy prevails. Instead in Chinatown the sinister man gets away with everything he did. I liked this not because I like the bad guy winning, but because it is actually what would happen in the real world. In today's world the rich man can get away with almost anything and that's the way it was here.
I also thought the ending was well done because of where it ended. It ended in Chinatown where the most corrupt things happen and nothing is done about it because of the fear of being killed. This story is basically the same thing. Jake knows the truth but is not able to convince anyone of it and he can't go about it on his own because Noah Cross will have him killed if he gets in the way. Noah can do this because he is a powerful man and has bought everyone off. In Chinatown it was the same way for Jake. He solved the crimes but couldn't do anything about it for fear of his life. That is the way it is in the real world, it shouldn't be that way, but it is.
There was also some foreshadowing as to what would happen to Evelyn at the end of the movie. She was shot through the back on the head and in the eye and then fell on the horn. Earlier in the movie Jake picks up on the black spot in her eye which she calls a flaw. Also when Jake surprises her at the house where he daughter is being kept she cries and falls on the horn like she did in the end. Both these instances foreshadow how Evelyn died in the end.
Overall I thought the ending was the best part. I liked it because it was more of a real world story, but it also had the Hollywood twist with the lucky shot the cop made to hit her in the head. It was also ironic because it ended in Chinatown where Jake didn't want to be because only bad things happen there. His wife was killed there because of his detective work and now his newfound girl is killed because of his work. Jake was also stuck between a rock and a hard place because he wanted to pin the crimes on Noah, but couldn't because of the risk of his life. He went through the same type of problem when he worked in Chinatown as a detective. So everything that happens to Jake when he used to be in Chinatown happened all over again when he went back.