One of the Best of All Time

Rating: 10/10 (2 June 1999)

Chinatown is a movie that combines a superb script with flawless directing. Robert Towne's script is probably the best script of all time. It encompasses all the elements of classical film noirs and uses them to tell a perfect story. The clues are fed to the audience slowly, but carefully. As Jake Gittes discovers more and more of the twisted plot revolving around the death of Mr. Mulwray, a world of disgusting corruption is found. Towne's script is reinforced by two of the greates performances of all time: Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson. Dunaway is the perfect femme fatale; she pulls Jake into a case that is bigger than he can handle. Nicholson plays a more thoughtful character than his usual roles. The most interesting part of the Gittes character is his vulnerability. Nicholson's nose is covered with bandages for a good part of the film to reinforce the fact that Gittes is not super-human; he will not and can not solve this case in time to save Dunaway.
Finally, Roman Polanski's direction is amazing in Chinatown. His camera is a voyeur in the film. It follows just over Nicholson's shoulder, it is right next to Dunaway's face (which from interviews, I hear really disturbed her and created friction between she and Polanski), and it surveys the young L.A. landscape revealing its superficial beauty. Polanski wonderfully contrasts this beautiful image of early L.A. and the corruption underlying the plot. On the one hand we see the desert and all its stark beauty. But in another scene, the camera is dodging punches or trying to get away from Claude Mulvhill. This move definetely signified a peek in Polanski's career. It is unfortunate that events in his personal life has made him an outcast in America, he truly had a great eye as a director.