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

Batman

Starring: Michael Keaton; Jack Nicholson; Kim Basinger

Director: Tim Burton

Writers: Sam Hamm; Warren Skaaren

Studio: Warner Bros.

This is one of those film's that gets copied often by people who forget what made the original work. Too many superhero movies that have followed Batman have just copied the dark atmosphere punctuated by black leather outfits and the opening. The extreme closeup of the Bat-symbol that results in the camera traveling around the corners of the logo like it was a maze has been rehashed endlessly. I can barely sit through the openings of most superhero films because they often begin with the extreme CGI closeup of Wolverine's nose hair or Blade's DNA. Anyway, there a number of great ideas in this film that the imitators just forget about while they copy/paste.

My personal favorite is how Batman is a mystery in this film; a central part of the film is the questions; "Who the fuck is this Batman, and why the fuck is he a Batman, anyway?" (Saying it like Jack Nicholson warms the heart.) It's not an origin film for Batman; it's about answering these two questions while Batman wars with the Joker. The film slowly let's the audience learn about the protagonist as we watch the rise and fall of the antagonist. It's about how they relate to each other, and how they might enjoy a parade together. Basinger's Vicki Vale doesn't work very well as the romantic interest, but she does good work as the audience's way into the weird world of the film. Her attempts to understand Batman humanize him in a way that wouldn't be possible given how cold this version of the character is.

The suit used for Batman creates the perfect image of the character; it creates the classic silhouette and blends into the night. The only problem is that it constricts the actor's movements to an insane degree. Batman can't crouch, look to his extreme left or right, or touch his toes. It forces the film to constantly work around the character's immobility while a middle-aged clown dances around him with a paunchy liveliness that molded black rubber doesn't allow. They work around quite well, but it leaves the film with a stiff, sterile Batman that's very difficult to engage on a personal level. It makes him quite spooky towards other character's, but he's very difficult to get into as an audience member. It's much easier to get lost in the Joker as he steals the whole show.

Writing: The dialog is often excellent. The Joker's lines are often quite funny, and almost every character gets something good to say. There is some great banter between the reporters, and Bruce Wayne gets some great weird dialog. The romantic dialog was not as good. Kim Basinger's got some terrible lines to make work, and she doesn't win that up hill battle. Otherwise, the plot is strong, focused, and full of great little ideas.

Direction: It's a mostly great looking film; some of the special effects integrate poorly though. The look of the film still holds up wonderfully; the massive dark monuments, retro fashions, and bizarre Joker fashion running madcap over the whole thing.

Acting: Jack Nicholson is out of control in this movie, and it's wonderful. He just takes the whole movie and puts it in his back pocket. He's doing impersonations of other cast members, re-enacting bits from the Wizard of Oz, dancing to Prince, playing with magazine cutouts, and going "boop boop" after killing other characters, but it works. His twisted glee is perfect for the character, and it keeps the movie light despite all that murder and mayhem. He received a cut of the gross for playing the Joker, which means Jack has gotten upwards of 50 million dollars from this one film. One scene of The Joker running away like a child imitating an airplane while making a farting noise earned him more money then I will ever have, and that fills me with a joy and jealousy that I may never actually deal with.

Michael Keaton does his best work out of that stifling rubber gimp suit and gives Bruce Wayne a quirky charm that makes his double life a kooky secret rather than the dark booming quest of the Nolan Batman films. His Batman is too damn stiff because he took Jack's advice and, "let the suit do the acting."

I would discuss the supporting actors, but it's really the leads' movie. The supporting actors do their best when they play off the leads or just get the fuck out of their way.

Editing: The editing is pretty damn good; that opening sequence actually gives the illusion of movement with the camera work and editing coming together perfectly timed to the music. Some of the effects do not integrate very well in certain scenes, and they have aged poorly as a result. Cutting back on some of the Batmobile, Batplane, and Joker balloons would have helped the film look much better, but that's probably just hindsight.

Sound: There are some very loud and slightly odd sound effects for things like bat-rope, Joker weapons, and batarangs, but it's all good.

Soundtrack/Score: I love the instrumental stuff, but the Prince music doesn't quite cut it. It's not bad, but it feels just a little forced. It's as if the Joker is throwing it in there just to really piss Batman off; it's also very obviously there just to sell the soundtrack. Also, the song that plays over the credits is fucking hilarious; Prince just goes nuts on this ballad about touching something that may or may not be his penis. That deserves a listen.

Self-awareness: This film is aware of what it can't be; it can't be Adam West and Burt Ward. It also is completely aware that being different from the sixties Batman does not require a humorless exercise in bleak darkness; when the film makes joke, it's funny in a dark and hip way. It also knows just how far to push the Joker and Batman's respective shticks so that they are larger than life rather than completely ridiculous on the screen.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 lines of coke for Jack

- Pete