Impressive

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2005)

The first movie I've seen from Roman Polanski's hand was "The Pianist" and the best way to describe what it did to me, was blowing me away. Nothing more, nothing less. It was one of the best examples of pure and honest cinema. Polanski knows how to suck you into a story like only few others can. What he does is not so different from what the other directors do (you will not see any special filming techniques for instance), but somehow he can give you that little extra that makes it all that more interesting. Hoping for the best, I wondered if I would feel it again with "Chinatown".
Jake 'J.J.' Gittes works as a private detective. When a woman comes in his office, claiming to be Evelyn Cross Mulwray, the wife of chief engineer of the water department Hollis Mulwray and asking him to investigate her husband's adulterous ways, there is no reason not to think this isn't just a normal every-day case. So Jake starts his investigation and is able to take photos of Hollis with a young lady. Case closed you would say, but when Hollis turns up murdered, Jake decides to investigate this from a bit closer. Soon he finds more than he thought there was to be found. Not only does he discover a plot to buy cheap, unwatered land for low prices, which than will be watered and sold for millions of dollars, he also finds out who the real wife of Mulwray is, who masterminded the plot, what the mysterious woman had to do with all of this and why so many different people are interested in that young girl Mulwray was photographed with...
"Chinatown" was shot almost thirty years before "The Pianist", but it is all too clear that Roman Polanski already knew exactly what to do to give a movie that little extra. Not only is it an excellent character study that focuses on all the characters and still doesn't feel impossible to entangle. It is also a movie in which you'll see some actors giving away one of their finest performances ever. Take for instance Jack Nicholson. He's so unbelievably real as the P.I Jake 'J.J.' Gittes. He plays it like he hasn't played another role in his entire life, like it is coming out of all of his pores. And the same can be said about all the other actors like for instance Faye Dunaway, John Huston,... Even the supporting actors seemed to fit perfectly in their roles.
What I also liked about this movie was the entire atmosphere. Not only does it give you an excellent idea of what the 1920's - 1930's looked and felt like, it also breathes some kind of threatening mysteriousness. That's probably what makes this movie so special. Not only the story and the acting are very good, so is the entire setting and feeling of the movie.
All in all this is a classic that shouldn't be missed by anybody who claims to be a real movie fan. It's for many reasons a fascinating movie that shows very well what a talented director Roman Polanski actually is. I give this movie an 8.5/10.