Roman Polanski is one of the most troubled people ever to grace the limelight of American culture. Whether it be his losses in the manson murders or his alleged sexual abuse of a minor, Polanski has brought a lot of criticism and sadness upon himself. However, the light in this darkness are his movies, with one of his best being the 1974 noir hit Chinatown. In the seedy underbelly of 1930’s Los Angeles. water is running out, and tension is high. Private detective J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) has been offered a case by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), husband of Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwering), who is the chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. When Mr. Mulwray turns up dead, and another woman says she is Mrs. Mulwray, an entire story of deception unfolds in a huge spectacle of style and suspense.
Chinatown is incredibly well-acted. Faye Dunaway brings an “it-girl” factor to the character of Mrs. Mulwray, and also shows the demonic sides of her life perfectly in the second act. Jack Nicholson turns in a performance that solidified him as one of the top actors of the 70’s and 80’s. And with Polanski at the helm, one can expect amazing sunset shots of Los Angeles. The setting itself is almost a character in Chinatown. Los Angeles is beautiful in this movie, but the idea that it was never supposed to be inhabited is a thought that routinely comes up in the movie. Especially in the scenes with the boy on the horse, we see that Los Angeles is truly a desert, and that water is their most prized resource.
In terms of its narrative, Chinatown follows a classic noir narrative, and especially in a time when most in Hollywood were adopting new narrative forms (Stanley Kubrick to name one), Polanski once again proves that sometimes simple point to point structure can tell an effective story.
This isn’t to say that Chinatown doesn’t have its problems. After watching it in 2015, there are certainly noticeable elements that feel locked in their time. For one, the supporting actors in this movie have a clear problem with over-acting, to the point where it detracts to the overall scene setups. For an example, look for the man in the records area for Los Angeles. On top of this, the story does really get muddy in the second half, as even an attentive viewer may lose interest through the various love affairs and the pointless plot changes.
All in all, Chinatown remains a great work of cinema. While it’s not Polanski’s best, it shows in many ways that noir is one of the greatest genres of all time.
RATING: 7.5/10
Chinatown is incredibly well-acted. Faye Dunaway brings an “it-girl” factor to the character of Mrs. Mulwray, and also shows the demonic sides of her life perfectly in the second act. Jack Nicholson turns in a performance that solidified him as one of the top actors of the 70’s and 80’s. And with Polanski at the helm, one can expect amazing sunset shots of Los Angeles. The setting itself is almost a character in Chinatown. Los Angeles is beautiful in this movie, but the idea that it was never supposed to be inhabited is a thought that routinely comes up in the movie. Especially in the scenes with the boy on the horse, we see that Los Angeles is truly a desert, and that water is their most prized resource.
In terms of its narrative, Chinatown follows a classic noir narrative, and especially in a time when most in Hollywood were adopting new narrative forms (Stanley Kubrick to name one), Polanski once again proves that sometimes simple point to point structure can tell an effective story.
This isn’t to say that Chinatown doesn’t have its problems. After watching it in 2015, there are certainly noticeable elements that feel locked in their time. For one, the supporting actors in this movie have a clear problem with over-acting, to the point where it detracts to the overall scene setups. For an example, look for the man in the records area for Los Angeles. On top of this, the story does really get muddy in the second half, as even an attentive viewer may lose interest through the various love affairs and the pointless plot changes.
All in all, Chinatown remains a great work of cinema. While it’s not Polanski’s best, it shows in many ways that noir is one of the greatest genres of all time.
RATING: 7.5/10