Chinatown

 

MOVIE: Chinatown (1974) 

LENGTH: 131 minutes

GENRE: Neo Noir Mystery

WARNING: This film is not for children, it has sexual content, violence, and implied incest. Also no happy ending with this one.

PLOT SUMMARY 

The film takes place in 1937 and begins in the office of private investigator J.J. “Jake” Gittes (played by the amazing Jack Nicholson). A woman, identifying herself as Evelyn Mulwray, hires Gittes to follow her husband Hollis Mulwray. Gittes follows the man and sees him publicly oppose the creation of a new reservoir.

The once seemingly simple case turns complicated when another woman (played by the fabulous Faye Dunaway) comes into Gittes’ office saying she is the real Evelyn Mulwray. Soon after Gittes realizes he has been set up, Hollis Mulwray is found dead. Gittes wants to get to the bottom of who set him up and why, but learns more than he bargained for.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS MOVIE 

This film is one of the most well known films directed by the infamous Roman Polanski and one of the most famous film noir screenplays. The entire movie is one giant metaphor for greed and the lengths some will go to for control, and in the case of this movie, the control of a water source. I heard about this film from one of my high school teachers who said this was their favorite movie of all time and even let me borrow a copy of theirs so I could experience this film myself. Let’s just I loved it!

Jack Nicholson is in this movie! I guarantee this will not be the last movie I write about that will have him in it. The role was specifically made for Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s friend, Robert Towne, who is also the writer of this film, said he wouldn’t have written the Jake Gittes character if he hadn’t known Jack Nicholson. Gittes is not too hard of a character to like; he is determined and very good at his job. The entire film is seen through Gittes’ eyes, so you don’t know more than he knows and learn all the disturbing facts about the case at the same time Gittes does.

Faye Dunaway does wonderfully in this film as well. You’ll sympathize with her character (on the right) as the film goes on, but even before that you are hoping she doesn’t turn out to be one of the bad guys. You’ll wonder just as Gittess does, how Evelyn fits into everything but you’ll see the disturbing truth as it comes to light. I’m not saying whether she does or doesn’t turn out to be one of the bad ones, my lips are sealed.

Overall the whole film’s theme is about the lengths horrible people go to just to gain power and there is some incest in the mix just to make an already horrible story worse. Interestingly, a big motif in the film was showing twin objects or people, with one always having a flaw of some sort – like one good pocket watch and one broken pocket watch. Though Towne has said that these motifs were unintentional, they still add a level of mystery and bleakness of reality to the film.

LAST THOUGHTS 

I enjoyed the film despite it not having a happy ending. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, but even the ending that Towne wanted for the film would not have been happy. The ending you will see in this film was Roman Polanski’s idea, not Towne’s.

FUN MOVIE FACTS 

1.) This movie was supposed to be the first of a trilogy, but after the 1990 sequel, The Two Jakes, written by Robert Towne and directed by Jack Nicholson bombed in the box office, the entire idea was dropped. However, each film in the would-be trilogy was going to be centered on a different source of power. The first film is all about trying to gain power by controlling a water source, the second is about oil, and the third was going to be about land.

2.) This film was chosen by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry in 1991.

3.) This film was nominated for 11 Oscars during the 47th Academy Awards, but only won one of its nominations, since it was going against an Academy Award favorite at the time, The Godfather: Part II.

Academy Award win:

Best Original Screenplay – Robert Towne

Academy Award nominations:

Best Picture – Robert Evans

Best Director – Roman Polanski

Best Actor – Jack Nicholson

Best Film Editing – Sam O’Steen

Best Art Direction – Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell, Ruby Levitt

Bet Costume Design – Anthea Sylbert

Best Cinematography – John A. Alonzo

Best Sound Mixing – Bud Grenzbach, Larry Jost

Best Music Score – Jerry Goldsmith

 

Sources

1.) Chinatown movie poster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_(1974_film)

2.) Picture of Jack Nicholson as Gittes: http://www.southphillyfilmclub.com/chinatown

3.) Picture of Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/569705421591319030/

4.) http://mentalfloss.com/article/67901/12-nosy-facts-about-chinatown