A bleak and brilliant noir masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 August 2006)

One of those bleak, brilliant 1970s movies, "Chinatown" draws inspiration from 1940s-style film noir, but is much more than just a homage to the genre. Though its excellent screenplay features the requisite snappy dialogue and tight, twisty plotting, its deeply cynical view of human nature takes the film beyond simple entertainment into near-tragedy. The glittering reservoirs and sun-baked deserts of Los Angeles turn out to be dangerous places, and a lush score helps set the movie's darkly romantic mood.
Private detective J. J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired to investigate whether Hollis Mulwray, head of the Los Angeles water department, is cheating on his wife Evelyn (Faye Dunaway). Things are much more complicated than Jake can possibly imagine, though: not only does he dredge up secrets about Hollis, Evelyn, and Evelyn's millionaire father Noah Cross (John Huston), he also discovers massive corruption in the water department. Though one plot deals with individuals and the other plot deals with society at large, they're both equally fascinating, and tie together in surprising ways.
The role of Jake Gittes was written to take advantage of Jack Nicholson's sly, sarcastic persona and other trademark mannerisms. But Jake's not just the cool, clever guy we've come to expect from Nicholson, or from movie detectives in general. Instead, he's hardly ever in control of the situation, and vulnerable because of this. To Nicholson's great credit, he captures these nuances, rather than coasting on his persona.
Evelyn is an even more layered, mysterious character, and Dunaway plays her with the elegant coolness known to every film noir dame. But Dunaway makes clear that Evelyn is not really a femme fatale: her coolness does not reflect an inner heartlessness. Instead, Evelyn's self- possession is just an act, and internally she's wounded and fragile.
"Chinatown" has been directed with superb attention to detailalways a good thing in a detective movie. Film noirs of the '40s, as good as they are, sometimes display hints that they were shot on a soundstage, but that's never the case with "Chinatown." Roman Polanski's camera enjoys following Jake Gittes as he examines the many clues and false leads, and there are some nice visual motifs, such as water and broken glass.
"Chinatown"'s ending is famously despairing, acknowledging that ordinary citizens with good intentions stand no chance against a corrupt bureaucracy. It would be unusual nowadays to have so many great talents collaborating on such a pessimistic story; fortunately, in 1974, the makers of "Chinatown" pooled their efforts and created a tragic, engaging, and outstanding movie.