A classic thriller

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2012)

Chinatown is easily recognised as a classic film, being one of Jack Nicholson and Roman Polanski's best films. This film came from a golden age of American age and can easily hold it's own against other classics from that period.
Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a private investigator in 1930s Los Angeles in the middle of a drought. He is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Diane Ladd) to follow her husband, the Chief Engineer of the city's Power and Water Department, who she suspects is having an affair. Gittes photographs with a young woman it gets leaked to the press. But the real Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) shows up in Gittes' office, threatening to sue him. Soon Gittes is thrown into a big mystery when Mr. Mulwray is found dead and Gittes uncovers a web involving the water department, real estate deals, political corruption and a dirty family secret.
Chinatown has a film noir visual, style and storytelling but does not suffer the restrictions that though films had to go through. Robert Towne was deserving of his Oscar win for Best Screenplay, delivering a complex story, real characters and combined with the acting and subtle direction makes for a very compelling thriller. Polanski keeps the film going at a fast pace and it also feels episodic because of the way the narrative shows how Gittes solves the mystery and uncovers clubs. It could have worked as a TV miniseries, but of course it is a great film anyway. This is a film that is allowed to be a more darker with it storytelling, the type of story it can tell (particularly with the twist) and be able to show more violence.
The acting is excellent, Nicholson is great playing a sleazy anti-hero who has a charm about him, willing to use underhand methods but still at heart not evil, a man with some morals and just wants to get his job done. Dunaway starts off as a confidence woman, who personae is slowly eroded as more of her past is revealed, starting with her change of personality because of the mention of her father. John Huston has a real sense of menace every time of he was on screen.
Chinatown is a glorious looking film, from the cars, to the art direction and to the costumes. The simple score by Jerry Goldsmith is able to soak you into the story and everything had the feel of film noir, but with the twist of being alike a 70s thriller. It is a perfect blend.
Chinatown is an essential film, a well made thriller that should please fans of 70s cinema.