Film Noir - Now in Colour!

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2003)

Jack Nicholson is my favourite actor. He's got a beautiful relatable quality to him which gives him that everyman essence both men and women enjoy watching. In Chinatown, Jack is perfectly cast as a slightly seedy, but professional and ethical small-business man who becomes embroiled in a nasty, complex case. Chinatown is perfect Film Noir, in colour. And in colour, it's sumptuous. I wonder whether the film would have been as successful at the box office if it had been filmed in black and white. One of these days, I'm going to rent the DVD again and switch off the colour on the TV and enjoy.
Faye Dunaway is classically beautiful, aristocratic and mysterious; a perfect Film Noir heroin. Roman Polanski directs expertly and he gives the characters space to reveal so much of themselves. The plot may be complex, but detective mystery/thrillers are meant to have complex plots (if you're enjoy reading detective novels, you'll have no trouble sewing things together).
I can't add anything further to this masterpiece other than to say Chinatown should be on every serious film buff's list of must sees. 9/10