A very nice, if imperfect, homage to Film Noir

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2007)

While I know that CHINATOWN has a great reputation and has received many 10s from reviewers, as a fan of Film Noir, I saw a few minor problems that kept the score from being a bit higher--though it's still an exceptional film. First, as any devoted fan of Noir knows, Noir is always, and I repeat, always filmed in black and white. The great shadows and camera angles are an important trademark of the style. While this Roman Polanski film is beautifully filmed (with a lot of sepia tones) and it definitely has the look of a late 1930s Warner Brothers gangster film, it just isn't true Noir because it's in color! Second, and this is a problem shared by THE BIG SLEEP, is that the plot is very, very complicated--perhaps a bit too complicated--making the resolution of mysteries and complications a bit too simple. The end, in particular, just seemed too convoluted a solution and left a lot of loose ends. BUT, getting past these factors, the film is still exceptional. Jack Nicholson was terrific and so was the rest of the cast. And the film was definitely interesting and exciting. It's definitely one of the better films of the 1970s--but I just can't see this as a better film than many of the earlier Noir films, such as THE KILLERS, KISS OF DEATH or DOA.