CHINATOWN (1974)

43 years after its initial release, Roman Polanski's "Chinatown" still stands its ground as one of
the best movies of the decade. Having in mind that the 70s are probably the most fruitful decade
in movie history, that is quite an achievement. It all started when Robert Towne was given 125
000 dollars to write an adaptation of "The Great Gatsby", which he politely refused, saying he
couldn't better the novel (and he was quite right), taking 25 000 bucks to write his own story
instead. He indeed wrote a fantastic detective story in the vein of Dashiell Hammett and
Raymond Chandler, giving the viewers probably the best neo-noir of all time, alongside "Blade
Runner". Robert Towne always had Jack Nicholson in mind to play the main role, and since this
was the first part of the planned trilogy, the actor refused all the other sleuth roles, in order for
J.J. Gittes to be the only detective he ever played. The sequels were never brought to life, but, as
I said, "Chinatown" is, in my opinion, practically perfect in every way, to use the words of Mary
Poppins, and it is possible that the sequels would only spoil the unique experience. Jack
Nicholson plays a P.I. specialized in matrimonial cases, who is hired to investigate what seems to
be an open-and-shut case of infidelity, but as time goes by, he is more and more stuck in the
complex web of lies, murder, and municipal corruption. He is extremely determined to find out
the whole truth, but some truths are better when they stay unrevealed. It is not difficult to see
why a script is considered to be the driving force behind every great movie - Towne's writing is
simply flawless, and is rightly considered to be a model for successful screenplay writing. It
deservedly won an Academy Award, unlike the rest of this movie's nominations. The hot, sweaty
atmosphere of the dusty Los Angeles draws the viewers in from frame one, and their eyes are
glued to the screen until the very end. It simply can't be helped - "Chinatown" irresistibly
reminds us of the great noirs of the 40s and 50s, and Roman Polanski intentionally filmed it in
the same fashion - from the perspective of the (anti)hero. Jack Nicholson's acting is top-notch -
he is intelligent, well-dressed, cynical and extremely suspicious (as he should be), and yet
completely unprepared for what he is about to witness at the end. Despite his cynicism, he
maintained the appropriate dose of humanity to be someone the viewers root for - hence the
tragic conclusion is even more devastating for both him and us. Faye Dunaway shows why she
used to be the most wanted actress in the seventies. Her beautiful balance between the femme
fatale she wants to be seen as, and the tortured soul she truly is, is Oscar-worthy. Her beautiful,
distinctive look is based on the director's pre-WWII memories of his mother, and in spite of the
frequent rows on set with Polanski, she gave one of the best performances of her career.
However, no movie would be complete without a credible antagonist, and the famed director
John Huston surely creates one. His Noah Cross is truly a sinister character who won't hold back
in order to achieve his goals. Rarely was there a director who understood evil as well as Roman
Polanski. He knew that the greatest evil comes from people or things very close to us, and
seemingly quite opposite. Noah Cross seems like a harmless benefactor, one of the most
respected and distinguished citizens, who always does his friends and neighbors a favor when
needed, which makes him virtually untouchable, even though he is actually a murderer, a rapist
and a child molester. He correctly says to Gittes that he has no idea what he's dealing with, and
when the main character realizes it, it is too late. Huston is not only an excellent director, but a
great actor, too. The real-life relationship of Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston added to the
overall tension of the interrogation scene which contained the question "do you sleep with my
daughter?". There are also some good supporting performances, especially from Perry Jones as
Lt. Lou Escobar, and Roman Polanski himself as a knife-wielding "kitty cat" thug who cuts
Gittes' nose. John Alonzo and Stanley Cortez need to be commended for their exquisite
cinematography work, they really give the viewers a great look at the droughty City of Angels,
which helps them get immersed in the story more quickly. The flaws I perceived are truly too
insignificant to mention compared to all the benefits of the movie. Its legacy speaks for itself,
although it is quite underrated award-wise, it is, in my opinion, one of the best thrillers of all
time, which is really something. The dark ending was surely influenced by the gruesome murder
of the director's wife, Sharon Tate, a few years before, and, in an ironic play of fate, Jack
Nicholson later found out that he virtually shared the destiny of Katherine Mulwray in real life.
All negative things aside, "Chinatown" will always remain one of the eternal classics of cinema,
and have its loyal fan base, which is certainly quite deserved.