Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown.

#21--Chinatown

Film noir is defined as a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace and usually uses dark shadows and lighting to show the complicated moral nature of the subject. This genre of film usually describes detective films of the 30s and 40s. One of the most recognizable film noir movies is The Maltese Falcon (#31 on the AFI list) starring Humphrey Bogart. Even though Falcon may be the most recognizable film noir, there is one movie that received a higher rank on AFI’s Top 100 list; Roman Polanski’s Chinatown.

Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson The Shining) is a Los Angeles private detective that specializes in surveying cheating spouses. So when a woman claiming to be Mrs. Evelyn Cross Mulwray hires Gittes to following her husband Hollis I. Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling Grease), Gittes takes the job with no hesitation. However, Gettis’ life becomes complicated when the real Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway Bonnie and Clyde) charges him of invading her and her husband’s privacy. But when Hollis is found murdered, Mrs. Mulwray drops the charges and hires Gettis to find out who and why her husband was killed. What Gettis doesn’t realize yet that the "who" and "why" is not so simple. To figure solve this murder, Gettis must navigate his way through the seedy side of L.A. politics before he gets himself or Mrs. Mulwray in the same morgue as Hollis Mulwray.

Chinatown is a very intriguing and thrilling film noir. Covered in mystery and political scheming, this film is well deserved of being on the AFI list. Though, I must say that I am not sure that it should be so high or even higher than The Maltese Falcon. I personally think that these films should actually switch places on this list. If you carefully view Chinatown, you can see some of the same elements that made Falcon such a good detective story.

In one of his most famous roles, Jack Nicholson portrays the arrogant P.I. very well. When we first meet Gettis, he is full of himself and takes pride in the things we uncovers. As the film progresses thought, Nicholson does an amazing transformation of Gettis. Gettis becomes less sure of himself and more mindful of a bigger world around him. Faye Dunaway gives the audience a very cold Evelyn. Through most of the film, Evelyn is very guarded and aloof. This may sound like a bad thing, but on the contrary, Dunaway is brilliant at this and by projecting this personality she is able to create a very intriguing character.

Roman Polanski (The Pianist) gives us a brutal look into 1930s Los Angeles and how politicians tried to refine the city. Polanski fiercely shrouds a lot of this film in shadow, both figuratively and realistically.  The director uses the lighting of the film to give the sense looming trouble and is also able to create a ‘shadow’ around everyone around Gettis. I equally enjoyed Polanski’s use of the camera angles, especially those of Nicholson and Danaway together. At first the camera uses a medium shot to show the distance between these two actors. As the story unfolds, the actors and the camera become closer to show the closeness of Gettis and Evelyn.

Though as I have mentioned, I do think that Chinatown should be a little lower on this list. However, I do still think that this in one of the best film noir movies ever made. Nicholson’s performance alone makes this film so unforgettable, though Polanski’s direction and unconventional ending make this film legendary.

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.