A text book example of screenwriting

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2002)

"Chinatown" is often sited as one of the best written films of all time. Screenwriting classes use this script to teach students. How right they are. Robert Towne's mystery is a complicated, thought provoking thriller that never loses the viewer even when you think you may not know what is happening. Everything is explained beautifully.
Jack Nicholson stars as private eye Jake Gittes who gets thrown into a mystery that deepens into a whole lot more then he bargained for. Faye Dunaway plays the femme fatale who has deep secrets of her own. Dunaway has never looked better then here and the chemistry between her and Nicholson is subtle, yet dead on.
The real star of this film is Towne's dialogue. The opening scene is indicative of how great it is. A man looks at pictures of his wife with another man. He collapses against the window in tears almost threatening to rip the blinds down. Nicholson has seen it all before. He remains calm and cool. He looks at the anguished man and, without blinking, says "You can't eat the venetian blinds Curly. I just had them installed Wednesday."
The look of "Chinatown" is one of pure beauty. Had director Roman Polanski shot in black and white it might have been even more effective in evoking the period. Let me also mention the fine supporting performance of director John Huston as Dunaway's father with some deep secrets of his own.
But the real star of this movie is the script. It's a pleasure to just listen to the words. And it becomes more pleasurable with each viewing.