Chinatown (1974)

A very well-done film noir. This murder mystery was intriguing and was always a few steps ahead of me. I didn't see the ending coming. This film will probably get better with each subsequent viewing.

I don't know why this film is so revered as honestly, I couldn't wait for it to get over- but it never would. Really, this is the longest film I've ever had the displeasure to sit through. Jack Nicholson plays a private detective without the usual Nicholson antics which would have at least made the proceedings more watchable, Faye Dunaway plays a heiress who hires Nicholson, and harbors a dirty secret and John Huston plays her father and head honcho who is the epitome of evil. The story isn't bad and I can see why the film is so revered, especially when you see the ending but man, does it take its time to get going.

Chinatown is undoubtedly one of the finest films to emerge from the 1970's, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunnaway, Roman Polanski has delivered a Noir masterpiece for the ages. Detective Jake Gittes, played by Nicholson, is at a glance, your average private eye snoop. He's sneering, untrustworthy and his reputation in and around Los Angeles is much worse. LA is in the midst of a severe drought, and Gittes, during one of his daily endeavours, has uncovered sinister activity by the Department of Water & Power that has the company reaping unfair financial rewards at the cost of unsuspecting landowners. Then there is the mysterious wealthy socialite, Evelyn Mulwray, played by Faye Dunaway, that comes to Gittes for help, but never quite reveals the full length of her troubles. She's elusive, seductive and tangled up in Chinatowns puzzle more than what she's willing to own up to. The drought of course is public knowledge, but when the Boss of Water & Power turns up dead in a reservoir, the LA community soon learn that foul play runs far beyond the boardroom. One of Chinatown's charms is the audience never knows more than Gittes at that certain point. Our detective is never one step ahead, and neither is the audience. Chinatown is not only a noir mystery film, but it's a superior thriller that keeps the viewer deeply involved from the start, to its tragic end.

Life: A grim and sordid mess in which the predators among us prevail. That is the dark message of this deeply atmospheric tale of private eye Gittes (Jack Nicholson) and Evelyn, the rich but emotionally moribund woman he tries to save (Faye Dunaway). Gittes's dialogue is great and Evelyn's every gesture speaks to her traumatic past. Their chemistry offers Evelyn perhaps the only moments of joy she has ever experienced and her smile in bed offers the scarcest of glimmers of hope in a world that is rotten to its core. Maybe the message here is that human connection offers a moment of succor in a hopelessly corrupted terrain. We're lucky if we stumble upon it. But it surely won't last. The plot here is complicated and difficult to follow at times, but well worth the effort. It is beautifully accompanied by a sultry jazz-trumpet score. Poor Evelyn. She made an effort to fight back. One shudders for the child she fails to save.