Great film-making with some flaws

Rating: 7/10 (31 October 2013)

This is an exceptional, yet flawed film.
Biggest pro: Exceptional acting by pretty much all involved. Biggest con: Overly long, could have benefited from tighter editing.
This is probably the film that put Jack Nicholson over as a broad-based popular actor. Prior to this, most of his screen appearances were either minor or lay somewhere in the cult film genre that appealed to a narrow audience. With this film, however, serious moviegoers across the spectrum could enjoy what I would have to call a nearly flawless performance. I've never cared much for Faye Dunaway, but liked her here. Frankly, I think this must have been a difficult role for her -- a character who has something very sinister to hide and who constantly crosses the line in terms of truth and honesty. Nicely done.
John Huston -- nearly always a gem -- is no less so here. If anything, we could have used a little more of him throughout the film, although I suppose that would have pointed to him as the "bad guy" long before director Polanski wanted to make that obvious. Perry Lopez was excellent as a police detective. And it was nice to see John Hillerman.
As indicated, at about 2 hours and 10 minutes, the film could have been more tightly edited. At points it seemed to drag a bit. And although this viewpoint is debatable, Polanski decided to keep the viewer in the dark about what was really happening in the story line for longer than I would have liked. I'm more an upfront guy -- give me the basics of the plot early on, and then I can enjoy the journey more. Polanski decided to let the story emerge just as it emerged in Nicholson's character's mind...but that often left us wondering what was going on, as well. The one thing in my mind that I question is -- what was so good about this case that would make Nicholson risk his life? At some point wouldn't a smart PI have just walked away from it all or brought the police in?
A real plus should go into the "sets". Very realistic for the era depicted.
Highly recommended, despite a few flaws, although it may not be a film you want to go back and watch over and over again. It falls in that same genre as the more modern "The Usual Suspects".