the greatest noir

Rating: Null/10 (9 March 2006)

Roman Polanski's Chinatown is by far one of the better neo noirs that I have ever seen. Despite the color instead of the classic black and white noirs of earlier times, Chinatown could easily be considered on the same level as its predecessors. L.A. Confidential does not seem to be in the same league. The movie's drab and macabre feeling resonates long after the movie ends. Staying consistent with many ground breaking movies of this period, the apocalyptic ending seems to be the only appropriate way to end this dark story. Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway's performances are perfect for what the movie entitles. Robert Towne's script is near flawless. The twists and turns do not seem clichÃ© and are there to propel the movie deeper and deeper into a winding abyss. The subject matter chosen for the film also serves the picture well. Los Angeles was built on the backs of the men who devised the plans for water engineering to provide the sprawling city with water. The two men who are credited with this feat are the lofty and idealistic Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling), who believed that the water supply belonged to the public, and the greedy, power hungry Noah Cross (John Huston), who wishes to deprive the already dehydrated city for his own benefit. Herein lays the mystery that J.J. Giddis' (Jack Nicholson) character is trying to unlace. The corruption goes all the way up to the top including holds on the police department and other public officials. In the end, J.J. is able to uncover the scandal, but is rendered powerless by the elite of the L.A. scene. Not only does his attempt fail, but he himself is left feeling empty and helpless in the face of these powerful men, who he made the mistake of labeling as just human and subject to law like every other citizen. He is trapped just as was Hollis Mulwray who encountered a far more violent end. J.J. Giddis is conceived to be a wheeling and dealing character who only after his own fame and glory, although he would never admit it himself. He's an ex-cop who is driven by the prospect of making money and isn't afraid to wear it. However, when he is approached by Evelyn Cross Mulwray, his motives start to change. He is still after the fame of uncovering one of the more groundbreaking scandals of the time, but there also a human element that is entered into the context. He goes out of his way and puts his collar on the line for this abused woman. In the end the only decent thing that he has conceivably done in the last decade goes unrewarded and ends in tragedy. This beautifully written story is more than just a genre of film labeled "noir". It has all kinds of social implications as well. It depicts the fruitless toil of idealistic liberals waging a war against the insurmountable power of the elite and privileged, who only got that way through corruption and dishonest dealings. It is far more poignant to the turbulence of the 1970's than to the times of the 1930's.