Chinatown (1974) – Review
I don’t blame myself. You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they’re capable of ANYTHING.
~ Noah Cross
Chinatown is a 1974 detective film and thriller set in 1930’s Los Angeles, starring a young Jack Nicholson. Nicholson plays Jake Gittes and his co-star played by Faye Dunaway is Evelyn Mulwray. Dunaway is most known for her roles with co-star Robert Redford in 3 Days of the Condor and Bonnie & Clyde alongside the legendary Warren Beatty.
This film is full of twists & turns, brutality, murder, corruption and deceit. Nicholson who appears in every scene in the film is a private detective who is hired by a woman claiming to be Mrs Evelyn Mulwray, certain her husband is having an affair. There are constant references to the Chinatown neighbourhood in LA and Jake’s past work there as a police officer. Thus he has already been exposed to the dark underbelly of Los Angeles, it is the audience that gets to explore what LA has to offer.
Cinematic
The movie elicits a mixed bag of emotions, the final scene was dramatic and so gut-wrenching, I could have cried. Chinatown, written by Oscar winning screenwriter Robert Towne is considered to be the greatest screenplay of all time by many critics and went on to inspire a sequel ‘The Two Jakes’ also starring Jack Nicholson. Many cinematic aspects of the film can be attributed to the work of Raymond Chandler, where all of the events of the film are seen subjectively through the main character’s eyes; for example, when Jake is knocked unconscious, the film fades to black and fades in when he wakes up.
The pacing of Chinatown is spectacular, due to efficient writing and flow which helps keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Chinatown is a mystery for which there are a multitude of clues to help solve it, these include saltwater, the pool and the obituary. Alone these clues do not draw too much attention to themselves, but they can be picked upon, especially after multiple viewings.
The opening scene introduces Curly (played by Burt Young from the Rocky franchise) and his relationship with his wife and his relationship with Jake. When he is called upon by Jake later in the film in a highly tense situation, their previous interaction proves helpful in helping the film to flow.
[An anonymous caller has telephoned Gittes]
Ida Sessions : Are you alone?
Jake Gittes : Isn’t everybody?
The characters
Jake grows as a character as the film progresses; he frequently appears in scenes by himself in the beginning, establishing him as someone with no real relationships with others. Jake finds some but little fulfilment and purpose in his work but vehemently defends it and the perception others have of him. He opens up after he is confronted by Evelyn and begins to care for her, taking actions and measures to protect her.
If familiar with traditional film noir, Evelyn’s character could easily be assumed to be that of the femme fatale and antagonist, an assumption that is not helped by her obvious involvement in the ongoing scandal. Overall Robert Towne’s screenplay likes to divert from already established tropes by film noir and he creates a unique story. However, a reoccurring theme of film noir in the 40’s and 50’s is the emphasis on the protagonist learning from their experiences, becoming a better person but feeling the repercussions of their actions and the reality they live in.
Staples of the noir film genre include romance, action and mystery, but what is a good noir film without a good antagonist? Noah Cross acts as the direct antagonist despite featuring very little in the film. The millionaire is a highly ambitious, nefarious man with a vast amount of resources at his disposal and he is the foil to Jake’s doggedness. In Chinatown is Jake a powerless individual? Watching Noah’s crimes and deeds by his own hands or performed by others, what can one man do?
Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can’t already afford?
~ Jake Gittes
The Score
The Chinatown score is original and was written in just 2 weeks by the late Jerry Goldsmith, it was nominated for an Oscar, losing out to Italian composer Nino Rota and his score for The Godfather Part II.
Listen here.
Synopsis
Chinatown is a mystery with no loose ends, directed by the notorious and decorated Roman Polanski, who makes a brief cameo role as a knife wielding hired thug. He himself has been no stranger to the dark side of LA society, his late wife Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson family in 1969 and just a few years after the release of Chinatown he was convicted of the rape of a 13-year old girl.
Robert Towne and Polanski had different ideas for the final scene, a situation that was almost as contentious as the feud between Oliver Stone (Scarface) and Quentin Tarantino (Django) over Natural born killers. The Polish filmmaker believed to showcase corruption and evil you have to show the results of the evil, as in the case of the tragedies that occurred in Greek theatre. The desired effect is to have the audience think about the film longer.
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”
A classic line to bring a piece of cinematic history to a close. An associate of Jake Gitte’s and also a private detective, Walsh delivers this line as a crowd gathers in Chinatown and the end credits roll. The love theme composed by Jerry Goldsmith then begins to play, performed soulfully on the trumpet by expert Hollywood musician Uan Rasey.
