Nicholson at his best. Before he became a Joker

Rating: Null/10 (21 September 2011)

Jack Nicholson starts his career as a headlined actor in style. The first film in which he takes the lead showed the world exactly what talent this man has. This film, to me, is his best acting experience, especially since it doesn't involve him laughing hysterically but delivering lines from an excellent script with brutality, wit and sarcasm.
He plays Jake Gittes, a Private Investigator, specialising in adultery cases. He is approached by a woman claiming to be the wife of Mr Mulwray, the owner of the water supply for LA, a man going through hard times due to the drought currently occupying LA. She believes her husband is having an affair with a younger woman and asks him to investigate. Just as Gittes begins his investigation, the real wife of Mr Mulwray (Faye Dunway) surfaces, threatening to sue Gittes for his intrusion. So what is going on?
Gittes pure curiosity into the situation and the arrival of Mr Mulwray's murdered body sends Gittes into a world of deceit and corruption, all stemming down to the importance of the city's water problem and some shocking family truths. The truth to which Gittes is to find, turns out to be darker and more sinister than many will be expecting, a realisation that had me baffled. This reveal, you may feel, has no link with the rest of the movie but thinking back to a few one liners and a strange John Huston, you can see where this back story links in and how important it is to the final outcome.
At no point in this movie did I find myself uninterested and it kept me guessing as to what will come in the next scene. This was due to Polanski's brilliant direction. From the first shot of Nicholson spying on Mr Mulwray, I felt myself applauding Polanski's directing. The shots were beautiful and a single frame seemed to reveal so much.
Polanski slowly drips information to the audience, giving you enough information to move onto the next scene but not enough so that the answers can be figured out before the credits role. My only complaint about it would be that I would have liked the ending to have been wrapped up a little better but perhaps Polanski felt the need to allow the audience to think about this film passed the end credits. Many others have come to like this ending but I think it ended too abruptly considering the rest of the film reveals itself very slowly. The ending seems rushed and this is not just from the story as the acting in the last five minutes seemed weaker and the camera work became lazy.
The film reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock style of filmmaking and I could compare this film to his classic Vertigo (1958) with its long lingering shots that build plenty of emotion and reveal all through the image and character on the screen.
The music works well with the film, bringing out lots of tension whether it is when Gittes is help at knife point or is leaning in for a kiss. The music brings the film to its noir roots despite it being recorded in colour.
I can see why this film is classed as a classic but the overly rushed ending takes a little away from it. Nicholson though is brilliant as the Private Eye and in my opinion surpasses the Joker (Batman) and McMurphy (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) interpretations audiences love him for.
See this film for Nicholson and for the disturbing revelation that caused my jaw to hit the floor.