Chinatown

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway
Directed by: Roman Polansky
Written by: Robert Towne
Studio: Paramount Pictures

I LOVE FILM NOIR, and while theorists and critics may argue about what exactly makes a film a black picture, no one doubts the genre fits into its own little, neat section of cinema. And since the genre is so particular and unique, its motifs and aesthetic can only undergo so many variations or explorations before degrading into dilution or cliche. The traditional setting of noir, your gritty and alienating metropolis, was one of the first elements positively drained of its meaning by the 1950's.

Noir produced outside of the 1940's, early 1950's (some people classify them as neo-noir, but I hate that name so fuggit) often step outside the classic setting. Extreme examples of this are Brick, where the setting is a contemporary high school and the surrounding suburbia, and Blade Runner, which is a Toyko-ized Los Angeles of the future. Chinatown is a less extreme example, but the alterations it makes to the noir norms are still pronounced and resounding.

For instance, Chinatown takes place near the middle of the 20th Century in Los Angeles, a noir city of many choices. But rather than take place in the classic period (again, the '40-'50's), we see the city a decade prior. Sure, practically every guy is wearing fedoras and suits, the cars are old-timey, and bureaucrats keep their fat with impunity...but there's also a liveliness to many of the sets (versus say in LA Confidential). We get the sense the city itself is youthful and still growing up. There's promise and commotion abound, everybody wants some scene to explode within it's limits (the Golden Age of Hollywood and then television). Seeing how the corruption other noir films simply assume of the City of Angels's came about, as it happened, strikes a different, more fatalistic cord.

The protagonist Jake Gittes fits the mold of the noir detective nicely, but is far from a Sam Spade clone. Like all noir (anti-ish) heroes, he is a man with foibles and perilous shortcomings: he is loud, arrogant, a bit of a sexist, and at times sloppy. He loves fine suits and his picture in the newspaper. He has a terrible haircut (then again, everyone does in this flick) and his nose is bandaged for a good portion of the time (see above). No one seems to like Jake, not even his operatives. But he does have the skills of a master PI and the balls of an ox, and that's exactly what's needed for the biggest and strangest case of his life.

The case itself is, again, a modified throwback to the likes of The Third Man, what with its intricacies, sidetracking, and entanglements with institutionalized corruption. But the true criminality here, what this movie is "really about", its far more twisted than what we're used to from a classic black picture. Incest, rape, state-sponsored ghettoization (I could go on and on about the Chinatown title choice/motif) - these tragic story elements aren't the crimes you see in the classic era. Undoubtedly due to the loosening of moral mandates that accompanied the rise of New Hollywood, we finally get to see how dark and brutal a detective story can be. And, boy, does it look good too.

Direction: This is Polansky at his peak. He tactfully highlights the categorical qualities of the classic genre (e.g. exclusion of light, shadowing, etc), while incorporating novel visual techniques to arise suspense and horror (e.g. seeing the costar dead from a headshot, exit wound and all). The setting switches between lavish and barren, exotic and grimy, but stays firm and true to the rigor of early Los Angeles. I read he fought with the producer over preserving a (tragic) ending: it was clearly worth it, Roman.

Acting: Jack Nicholson, usually one bring a little creepiness to a role, is here cavalier, wisecracking, at times bumbling, and even morose. Fantastic. Faye Dunaway shows excellent range as well in first presenting herself as a classic femme fatale, but ending up enviable and innocent.

Editing: Some of the scenes run a little long in the first act (of course, it is noir), but it's all neat and crisp after Mulwray hires Jake. The final scene is a perfect length.

Sound: The sound work in phenomenal in the lonely, suspenseful scenes where Jake snoops.

Soundtrack/Score: Eh, honestly, wasn't paying attention.

Self-Awareness: It's the caliber of a dark picture Ulmer always wanted, and I'm sure Polansky/Towne had this goal in mind. Also, like many of the "neo-noirs" attempts in the 1970's, it also depicts the misdeeds and accidents that drive the plot with a greater realism and gore than was allowed by the Production code of the mid-20th Century. Chinatown does a much better job at jarring us than, say, Mean Streets.

By the way, the writing's up to snuff, shut up NYTimes.

Overall rating: **** 1/2

~Ian