“Discuss the key elements of the classic narrative in relation to

your viewing of ‘Chinatown’”

Before I start, I would like to define the classic narrative for the sake of
clarity.
‘The basic cinematic codes that the classic narrative follows are first, that it
demands that cinematic codes function to propel the narrative from it’s
beginning through to it’s resolution, keeping the story moving along. Second,
it is important that in the narration of fictional events the casual link between
each event be clear. Third, the narration called for would encompass the
construction of a location, a credible fictional world, for the events of the story.
Finally, it should be capable of constructing the individuated characters pivotal
to the classic narrative, and of establishing and sustaining their agency in the
narrative process.’ (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.40) Chinatown follows all of the
above criteria, but what makes it different? I will do my best to answer this
question by the end of this essay, but allow me to leave this question for now.
‘A landmark movie in the film noir tradition, Roman Polanski’s
‘Chinatown’ stand’s as a true classic. Jack Nicholson is private eye Jake
Gittes, living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war southern
California. Hired by a beautiful socialite (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her
husband’s extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double
dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political
scandals that come crashing together for one, unforgettable night in…
Chinatown.’ Taken from the cover of the DVD, the blurb sums up very
efficiently the plot of this timeless masterpiece. According to Robert Towne,
the writer of the screenplay, the story’s title came from a Hungarian vice cop
who worked in Chinatown. ‘Doing as little as possible’ was the name of the
game, so to speak (Gittes quotes the same line in the film). This was due to
the difficulties in communication with the Chinese community, making it very
difficult in deciphering whether you were being asked to prevent a crime, or
whether you were inadvertently helping to commit one. With this in mind, the
intuition that strikes you whilst watching this film is that everything is not what
it seems - in every sense.
Chinatown borrows many devices common in the traditional detective
movie, as does it ‘play’ with these conventions. The hiring of a private eye by
a seemingly typical femme fatale, red herrings laid, information concealed, the
main suspect a charmingly evil man, etc. But how does all this lend itself to
the classic narrative convention? The relationship between narrative and
knowledge, character and viewer are very prominent. The perspective is seen
from Gittes point of view; whether it is investigating information, spying
through a camera or even when knocked unconscious, the viewer
experiences the train of events through Gittes eyes. The same holds true for
the information received. Knowledge of a particular event is known via Gittes
interpretation of them. The direction taken with a certain clue, a sudden
brainstorm and interestingly, with mistakes made, we know (or don’t know)
what Gittes knows.
‘In the classic narrative, events in the story are organized around a basic
structure of enigma and resolution’ (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.40). This device
is probably the most obvious employed by Polanski to propel one event to the
next. The audience is swept along by the motivations of Gittes investigation.
For example, the question mark over Mrs. Mulwray is consistent throughout
Gittes investigation. He eventually seduces her (probably to gain more
information), then she receives a phone call urging her to an unknown
location, she asks Gittes to ‘trust me this much.’ He doesn’t & follows her to
the house of ‘Mr. Mulwray’s girlfriend.’ He confronts her, where she tells him
the half-truth that the girl he saw was infact her sister – the audience is
constantly being pushed along by Gittes’ investigation. Cause and effect is
employed so that each event of the narrative follows a certain logic, linking it
with the following segment of the film. Thus, continuity editing is a necessary
device commonly used in the classic narrative. ‘Continuity editing establishes
spatial and temporal relationships between shots in such a way as to permit
the spectator to ‘read’ a film without any conscious effort, precisely because
the editing is ‘invisible’. The function of continuity editing is to ‘bridge’ spatial
and temporal ellipses in cinematic narration, through the operation of such
conventions as match on action, consistency of screen direction and the 30
degree rule’ (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.40).
Classic narrative conventions and the devices used in traditional detective
movies are widely used, Hollywood or non-Hollywood. But what sets
Chinatown distinctively apart from it’s predecessors is the way it ‘plays’ with
these traditional conventions. Most detective movies at the time were about
heists, jewels or strange murders; Chinatown on the other hand is about water
and power, not to mention incest, which made it unusual.
The most obvious reworking is that of the roles and motivations of the
main characters. The main characters follow the classic narrative in the sense
that there is a ‘protagonist/hero,’ a love interest, a villain, even the
stereotypical lawman (cop who plays by the rules). The thing that marks these
characters as different in the traditional sense is that most of these characters
roles and motivations are very ambiguous. First, the classic female in a film
noir is a ‘femme fatale’ or ‘black widow.’ Mrs. Mulwray, at the beginning or the
film certainly gives this impression, but gradually her motives are seen in a
different light. Surprisingly, she turns out to be the heroine of the movie, the
only character who is operating out of decent and selfless motives. Noah
cross is no doubt a villain, but some of his motivations can’t be seen as being
completely villainous. His reasons for wanting to unite with his second
daughter indicates an emotional attachment, possibly even paternal love –
strange for a character who is shown to be cold and manipulative.
Most intriguing of all is the way conventions are played with concerning the
protagonist, Gittes. The idea that the traditional detective is on top of his
game, able to pick up clues and read between the lines seems like too much
to ask for where Gittes is concerned. Naïve, lacking in judgement, foresight
and consistently misperceiving people and their relationships (leading to the
infamous face-slapping scene), it’s as if Towne was saying, ‘This is what can
happen when a private eye scews up.’ Taking this into account, Gittes is a
direct contradiction to the traditional private eye. His businessman like
approach and openness to admit that divorce work is his ’metier,’ indicate
differences between the traditional and modern detective. Gittes is in way
over his head the moment the fake Mrs. Mulwray steps into his office and his
futile attempts to anticipate the sexual and political corruption that plagues the
entire story are clearly beyond his control. Due to Gittes constant mishandling
of the facts, this leads to the tragic, though inevitable outcome. Because the
narrative knowledge is intimately linked with the knowledge known by Gittes,
the audience is constantly misinformed, right through to the end, highlighting
another area where the traditional conventions have been played with.
‘The classic narrative may be defined by the high degree of closure which
typically marks it’s resolution’ (Cook & Bernink 1999, p.40). In Chinatown,
there is closure, though there is not a sense of resolution. The death of Mrs.
Mulwray, Noah Cross walks free from his crimes, the fate of Katherine
unknown, all add to a feeling of irresolution. Lack of closure not only adds to
the corrupt theme of the film, but in certain ways makes for a haunting
viewing, leaving a sense of disturbance in the viewers mind. Curiously, this
results in a continued contemplation of the events, ultimately leading to an
appreciation of this contradictory response and of the film as a whole.
Although Chinatown follows many functions associated with the classic
narrative structure, the same can be said for many films made, past and
present. This includes films spread across all genres – western, melodrama,
crime, science fiction, etc. Films have evolved in such a way that many
incorporate techniques common in classic narrative conventions, but also
mixing devices used in art cinema, European cinema, psychoanalytic theory,
etc. Bearing this in mind, whether classic narrative devices can be deciphered
in a film is missing the bigger picture. Because film has progressed so much
since the classic narrative was first established, though relevant, natural
evolution has ultimately made the classic codes of narrative rather too general
in modern cinema.

References
Cook, Pam and Bernink, Mieke (1999) The Cinema Book. London: BFI
Publishing
DVD Widescreen Collection (2000) Chinatown. Paramount Pictures