A bit of Art imitating life.

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2007)

My high rating is due to the fact that the "smart ass" private eye character we see in so many of this type genre is worldly wise except for the fact that he misses the paternity line of Faye Dunnaway until the end of the movie, and his lack of catching on causes her death. This is not the usual shamus movie. I was left with the impression that John Huston's character, although wounded and hurt, would get off legally because the last scene plays in Chinatown, where anyone with money and influence can beat any legal rap. However as someone who believes that if you live long enough, your own misdeeds will eventually punish you more than the corrupt law.
As for life art imitating life, you have Roman Polanski, the convicted rapist of a 13 year old, and Jack Nicholson growing up not knowing who his father and mother was. This fact of life plays a central theme in this film, and J.J. Gittes had figured everything out but the true connection between Dunaway's character and Huston's, but too late to be the hero. Instead he is like most of us, a guy who hasn't got all the answers, and thats what separates this from your average cop film.
As for the film, the only thing I didn't like, and don't like in general, is the tint used to give us the impression that the time frame is the 1930's and not 1974 when the movie was shot. Isn't the dress, 30 cars and ethic stereotyping enough to remind us of that era? Maybe Polanski should have shot it in Black and White, like the Godfather, or Maltese Falcon.