Chinatown

The film noir is a genre of film that was heavily utilized during the 1940s and 50s, generally being considered the ‘’classic period’’ for American film noirs. Being associated with cynical attitudes and motivations, depressed characters with an affinity for chain-smoking and inner monologues, a black and white style with German expressionist cinematography and a lot of the tales being something akin to a Hollywood crime drama or the exploitation or revealing of the dark side of the larger-than-life environment. It was a highly successful genre that still pops up in spurts in modern age but is nowhere near as frequent. One film that seemed to bring back that film noir style with a different edge to it was the 1974 film, Chinatown. In late 1930s LA, private investigator Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson) is asked by the supposed wife of Chief engineer of the Department of Water and Power, Hollis Mulwray (played by Darrell Zwerling) to see if he is cheating on her. After starting the inspection, things escalate when he turns up dead a few days later after he publicly stated he had no intentions of building a new reservoir. Suspecting foul play, Gittes eventually meets the real wife, Evelyn Mulwray (played by Faye Dunaway) who eventually begins to work with him and both start to discover a conspiracy that has been bubbling around the surface ever since the first reservoir collapse caused a power struggle over land ownership and water usage. As more clues start coming together, characters start to be more than they appear to be, and this whole situation may lead Gittes back to the one place he hoped to never return to again, the corrupt streets of Chinatown. Originally meant to be a planned trilogy (with the second part, the 1990 film The Two Jakes, failing to please audiences and critics, which led to the cancellation of the third film), Chinatown is considered one of the greatest films of all time and received a lot of nominations at the 47^th Academy Awards. Directed by Roman Polanski, as a send up to a very popular film genre, it manages to provide a decent experience with good characters, nice narrative layout and uses its genre to the best of its ability.

The movie takes inspiration from a real-life incident to help shape out its narrative and the main driving force behind the murder. It draws from the California waters wars, a series of disputes between farmers and ranchers in East California and those that lived in the city of LA. It involved water diverging from its intended source, farmers trying to destroy creating aqueducts to get their water back, and this feud almost lasted a whole century with several lakes being sapped of water only to be returned after several litigation’s. It’s a really smart idea to use this for a hook for a film noir, as it ties into the themes of corruption of those within higher power, utilizes a universally pinned-after source for the crux of the story, and showing the desperation some people can go to by not only have something, but wanting every last bit of it. Its actually a pretty nicely laid out mystery with the clues and conversations throughout the movie nicely distributed so that people can follow it as it goes along, it isn’t too complicated to follow and despite the inner workings getting a little muddled as it keeps going, the screenplay by Robert Towne does keep your interest and make you want to see what happens. It feels like a film noir that wants to be faithful to its original roots, but also wants to spice things up by giving it a new feel that strangely comes across as more authentic than those of its previous. While the genre was always known for being more cynical and brutally honest with its morals, characters and stories, it still existed within a hyper-realized version of reality; enough so that was used in several parodies and even its own genre became self-referential with itself. This movie doesn’t do any of that, strangely feeling more out of place by playing the movie incredibly straight and allowing things to finish on a sour note come the film’s conclusion; like most film noir’s, there isn’t a happy ending, but this one feels extra unsatisfying and empty in the best way possible. It does start to get a little confusing and jumpy in the final act and the pace can be a little slow at times, but for the most part, it isn’t too bad.

Characters in a film noir are pretty blanket roles as well, but you can have a lot of fun with them if given the correct direction, writing, and acting; the grizzled detective, the unassuming victims, the critical police chief, the femme fatale, the secretive villain, they all have their place in movies like this, but they can be updated in a manner without going too far off the trend. This movie does do that a bit, where the characters aren’t as stylized as they would be in that genre. The lead detective seems to mess up a lot of times and gets punished because of it, the woman who looks distrusting and manipulative isn’t as one-note as she appears, and the question doesn’t become who out of these people is the evil one, it becomes who isn’t. The acting from everybody is pretty good at making these types feel one way, but also making it look like it could be the opposite, it never feels too obvious which side these characters lay on and it keeps things interesting and not as expected. While the final reveal of who is behind everything isn’t that surprising, the end results are because of the way this movie laid out these roles. Jack Nicholson usually plays himself in a lot of his roles, but considering what this character requires, his steely look, methodical speaking pace, and casually yet slightly crazed demeanor fits perfectly with this role. Faye Dunaway is also a perfect choice for the femme fatale role because her cold demeanor and higher-class aesthetic gives the impression of something entirely different to what is actually going on.

The movie’s visuals and score really want to capture the spirit of what a film noir manages to emulate, but still in a newer manner that helps it stand apart from those in the past. The environments in the movie are surprisingly filled with enough light and color that makes it not just a world that’s overly saturated in dark shadows, moody lighting, and constant splashes of grey, black, and white. It helps create an environment that feels more lived in, with more character and liveliness than what should be expected thanks to the production design by Richard Sylbert. A lot of the places the film is shot in feels very real and even a lot of the cinematography by John A. Alonzo and Stanley Cortez feels like its just a person getting a basic shot of the lead actor and the environment around him, it makes it feel more honest and in the moment, it paints a nice contrast to when they finally get to Chinatown and the bustling streets of that city feel more in line with what you’d expect in a traditional film noir. The music by Jerry Goldsmith has fantastic atmosphere and really captures the feel and mood of what a film noir should be like with the strong brass instrumentation mixed with the sharp strings provided a sense of uneasy, yet glamorous appeal. It’s a great score and anytime its heard, it’s a delight to listen to.

For what Chinatown was trying to get across, it does it very well. It feels like it wants to recapture what the genre was doing, but not retread into old territories but instead uses its best aspects to create some striking, new, and uncomfortably real. The usage of a real-life event and the unease and corruption that came from that fits perfectly in this environment and manages to suck you in even moreso than if it wasn’t there. The characters are memorable, the mystery is well laid out, the visuals are nice, the music is great and it’s a film that can still be watched today just fine (despite who made it and the obvious Chinese stereotyping). Its pretty slow in points, the final act gets a little messy and it isn’t going to be for everybody, but for what its worth, this film is a mystery worth sticking around for.