Chinatown (1974)

I was inspired to rewatch this after viewing Rango the other day. The last time I had seen it I was 16 and going through my Faye Dunaway phase. It is amazing what a few years worth of intensive film watching will reveal when seeing a great movie. I knew then that I was watching something special, but I had no idea how special until last night. This is probably one of the best films of the 70's after The Godfather and Taxi Driver, with its incredible script, strong direction, and superb performances from Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston.

The plot is rich and complex, and never reveals any more than it has to, and sometimes not even that much. It opens up layer by layer exposing a dirty world of greed and corrupt politics in a very old Los Angeles. Nicholson plays J.J.Gittes, a Private I., specializing in tracking down cheating spouses. In the middle of a terrible drought a Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray hires Gittes to follow her husband. He does, and finds some expected results. The repercussions, however, are very unexpected when a beautiful but mysterious woman contacts Gittes revealing herself as the real Evelyn Mulwray; Gittes had been hired by an impostor. To what end?

While he was tracking Hollis Mulwray, the chief engineer for Water & Power in Los Angeles, Gittes unearths some interesting information about where the water is going. Mr. Mulwray refused to build a dam over some soft ground much to the dismay of some corporate hot-shots, and when Mr. Mulwray ends up drowned it leads Gittes down a dark and dangerous path to find out where the water goes, the importance of the dam, what Hollis died for, who killed him, and what was the secret behind the china-faced femme fatale.

This covers only the bare surface of the goings on in this film. To write it all I would basically need to rewrite the script, because this movie leaves you guessing with only pieces of the puzzle right until the very end. Like most film noir Chinatown has sexually impulsive characters, mysterious death, and a central figure who is really the only person that the audience can trust. Where it differs, though, is by have multi-dimensional, very complex characters, a well thought out and entirely unformulaic plot, and inspired direction from Roman Polanski. This takes it time, it is methodical but never boring, leaves your head scratching for all of the right reasons, and has moments that will make your jaw hit the floor.

This is one of the smartest and most cynical films to fall into the "Noir" category. It excels by rising above the normal murder mystery sub-genre by really focusing in on the dirtier aspects of human nature. John Huston plays Evelyn Mulwray's fat, expensive, dangerous father who hits it right on the button when he says, "I don't blame myself. You see, Mr. Gittes, most people have never had to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they are capable of anything." The people in this film will go to just about any lengths to push their skeletons into the farthest depths of their closet, and it takes all of the cunning and expertise of J.J.Gittes to bring those deeds to light.

Jack Nicholson gives one of his best performances in this film simply because he is not playing Jack Nicholson. Everything that he does is Gittes, and it is so nice to watch him when he loses himself in a role. He kind of reminds me of Robin Williams in that I don't necessarily dislike him when he is hamming it up for the camera, but when he finds the right subtleties for a character he becomes a joy to watch. Faye Dunaway reminded me why I had such a thing for her when I was younger. She was so beautiful, and she could act really, really well. After Bonnie and Clyde this is my favorite work of hers. She borders lunacy while keeping it tactful, and that is a very tough challenge which she handled deftly.

This is absolutely one of my favorite films with an amazing collection of fantastic people in showbiz. Highly recommended to anyone with mature tastes and a love for a complex narrative.

4/4