As noirish as noir can get

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2010)

I read, recently, that, in a joint poll by the 'Guardian' and the 'Observer', Roman Polanski's 'Chinatown' was voted the greatest film of all time.
Now that may be arguable - I feel that, with the volume of great cinema that's come out of Hollywood over the years, and the variety of genres in which we find excellence, it may be facile to label any individual film as the "best" or the "greatest" ... Having said that, however, 'Chinatown' cannot but be characterized as representative of neo noir at its tightest and most gripping, with a celebrated screenplay that does not relax its hold on you till the unforgettable final scene - 'Forget it, Jake ... it's Chinatown.'
Much has been written about Jack Nicholson's virtuosity as Detective J.J.Gitte, and his gritty portrayal of the acerbic detective rightly deserves a place in every history book of Hollywood. The film, however, at the end, is neither Jack Nicholson's, nor Faye Dunaway's - who matches Nicholson scene for scene -, but, unquestionably, Roman Polanski's triumph - every scene in the film is handled like a Ming vase - touch it and it will break.
I read that there was considerable disagreement between Polanski and Stone - who wrote the screenplay - over how the film should end, and that, ultimately, Polanski had his way ... Having seen the film, I feel happy that this was so - there could be no more fitting finale ... after all, it's 'Chinatown'! A tour de force, in every sense of the word.