Rating of
3/4
Chinatown review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 08/11/11
A typical slow-burner for good character development which pays off in the stunning conclusion. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) receives a call from Mrs. Mulwray to perform a surveillance of his husband, Hollis Mulwray, and his malicious activities. The real Evelyn Cross Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) shows up in his office and plans on suing him for the photos being displayed on the papers. Gittes tries to uncover a mysterious death of Mrs. Mulwray’s husband. Evelyn and Jake become romantically involved though he was being paid to find the killer. Jake investigates San Fernando Valley and Noah Cross (John Huston), who owned the water department. Cross then offers Jake some money to find the mistress of Hollis Mulwray. He discovers the dark history involving Evelyn and her father’s manner of running a business. A miserable incident occurs in Chinatown while everything unveils.
A few interesting quotes: Jake – “Listen, pal. I make an honest living. People only come to me when they're in a desperate situation. I help 'em out. I don't kick families out of their houses like you bums down at the bank do.” Lawrence Walsh - “Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.” Cross: “Course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.” Mrs. Mulwray – “She's my sister and my daughter!...My father and I - understand? Or is it too tough for you?”
This has one of the craftiest plots written. Its film score was captivating and the acting was astounding. John Huston played a subtle yet dangerous antagonist. Jack Nicholson played it cool yet tough with impartiality. It mirrors the characters of Gittes and Cross, good against evil. It depicts the ultimate corrupt, greedy and insensitive businessman and a person who only wants justice and what’s ethically truthful. Some apprehensions I had were the length of some scenes, though it was not significant. The romantic link didn’t have enough depth between Jake and Evelyn. If Jack had more action scenes instead of being getting beat-up all the time, then the movie could have had more fervor into it instead of waiting for the next scenes to unfold. Pace of the film in the beginning was lethargic, it only picked up in the middle portion of the picture. Other than that, the screenplay was stimulating and musical background added to the suspense. Being that it was one of the pioneers of film-noir, it was a good start and somewhat appealing depending on your mood.
