Chinatown




It's Chinatown.

And with those words, so ends probably the best mystery drama of all time. Jack Nicholson is Jake Gittes, a private investigator who is contracted to tail a water engineer. When the engineer turns up dead, Gittes becomes suspicious and begins poking around. Soon, he finds that there are much bigger things going on and he is soon a part of an intricate web of deception, greed and murder. Gittes becomes involved with the engineer's wife (Faye Dunaway), who has a few secrets of her own.

At a casual first glance, it may seem this movie isn't that extraordinary. But closer inspection will reveal a movie that is both intelligent and complex. The plot unravels, or more appropriately, thickens by the minute. New details and intriguing layers are constantly adding up. Something new is always happening, always bringing us to another place. This is why screenwriters study this movie. It is nearly flawless, working the script for all it's worth. There is little to no wasted time, and even the littlest of things turn out to be important. It is truly a marvelous script that has both an involving (and occasionally witty) plot and interesting characters.

The film takes on a noir feel of a thirties mystery. Though that is never focused on, Roman Polanski does a good deal of other things. He has a lot to work with here. Both subtle and obvious elements play out to their maximum effect, making this is a good collaboration between the writer and director.

From the beginning to the end, Nicholson plays his character to the letter. He comes off as sarcastic, rough and crude (typical Nicholson type), and you can tell he loves every minute of it. However, don't take him to be a one-dimensional character. Dunaway is also excellent as the tormented Mrs. Mulwray.

Chinatown boasts both an engrossing plot and actors at their best. There's no turning back as the story moves closer and closer to Chinatown, the place where nothing is as it seems.



-The Gnome