Certification. X
Running Time. 2 hours 10 mins
Director. Roman Polanski
Cast. Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, John Huston, Diane Ladd, Jack Nicholson.
Rating. 81%
Routinely appearing on definitive lists, for many Chinatown may well be the best film noir ever made. Though set in the 1930s, the film was made thirty years too late to be genuine film noir. Therefore, Chinatown is an affectionate and well-crafted homage to film noir. The film pays tribute to the standard bearers that went before whilst elevating every single element or convention that defined the genre, in my mind making Chinatown one of the quintessential film noirs.
Despite the traditions of the genre, Chinatown is set in a sun-bleached, drought-scorched Los Angeles, rather than the conventional dark underbelly of some shady, grim metropolis. Though, in truth, the setting and the film itself, are no less ugly.
Jack Nicholson won plaudits for his portrayal of the hard-bitten private investigator Jake Gittes. Supported by a compelling performance from a delectable Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray, wife to the murdered Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Whilst she smoulders on-screen, the chemistry between the two main leads is missing, only Mulwary's promiscuous and adulterous lifestyle explains the savage character arc that results in a physical relationship.
Roman Polanski's direction is superb. Tight, despite an exhaustive narrative. Often scenes are filmed at eye level, from Jake's perspective, positioning the viewer at a similar vantage point to the main character. US audiences were only just starting to notice the work of the Polish director after the release of Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and Macbeth.
The film's now infamous, heartwrenching conclusion, an uncompromising last-act revelation was a departure from the neatly packaged, upbeat resolution of traditional detective stories. To pay homage to the film noirs of the 1940s and 1950s, screenwriter Robert Towne scripted an ending where Evelyn Mulwray shot dead the repugnant Noah Cross (a vermiculate John Huston) and was sent to prison. It was Polanski himself who came up with the darker ending. A bold decision, which paid off.
It is perhaps worth noting that Chinatown was nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 1975, but only Robert Towne picked up an award for Best Original Screenplay [the majority of the prestigious categories went to The Godfather: Part II]. Towne's dialogue is a study in cynicism and malaise, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." The film's most famous line, a metaphor for someone out of their depth.
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