CHINATOWN (1974) Director: Roman Polanski

The term ‘Film Noir’ has been used and misused so much that the phrase has come to mean whatever the Studio Marketing Department makes it mean. I distinctly recall Bruce Willis’ tour de farce, Color of Night, promoted as ‘film noir’ (with an insanely dumb mystery Forrest Gump could’ve deciphered) and I remember thinking, what a slap in the face to true Noir films such as Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep and Touch of Evil. But for every faux Noir, such as The Black Dahlia, there’s a true Noir, like L.A. Confidential (both based on novels written by James Ellroy). And that brings us to one of the Grand Dames of Film Noir, Chinatown.

A story of a bygone era, shot and released in a different bygone era, Chinatown stands up to the test of time. Last year, two friends of mine watched Chinatown at the Laemmle Royal (my friend, Danny, viewing it for the first time) and it was an experience. I had never seen it on the big screen before and the scope and depth of the film was astounding. It would be astounding to think it didn’t even win Best Picture when it was nominated in 1974. That title went to a little film called The Godfather Part 2. That year also produced The Conversation, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Longest Yard, The Great Gatsby, Lenny and Alice doesn’t live here Anymore. What a year!!!

It’s set in the thirties and Los Angeles is in the midst of a drought; where have you heard that before? Ex- LAPD turned Private Eye, Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is in the shallow end of a notoriously sleazy profession. Jake is hired to investigate Hollis Mulwray, the Head of the Department of Water, by a woman claiming to be Mrs. Mulwray. Finding Mulwray with a young, blonde female, Jake cracks the tip of labyrinthian iceberg of lies, deceit, murder, fraud and incest. After Mulwray’s ‘accidental’ death, Jake is hired by the Real Mrs. Mulwray. Evelyn Mulwray, played with sultry sadness by Faye Dunaway, and Jake slowly unravel a mystery that leads to political fraud and ultimately, tragedy.

Jack Nicholson is amazing as Jake Gittes. It’s funny to think of how often other actors are intended for major roles (James Caan was intended to be Randall McMurphy before Jack took over) but I can think of no one else who could pull off the wit and depth of Jake Gittes. His string of anti-heroes in the seventies from Five Easy Pieces to The Last Detail, One Flew Over… and, of course, The Shining, includes Gittes in Chinatown. And Jake is an anti-hero; he may be in a sleazy profession but there’s a soul to Nicholson’s Gittes and it’s no more evident than in his final blank stare at the end, when all is lost.

Faye Dunaway, apparently mentally tortured by Polanski during filming, pulls off the difficult task of delving into the character of a woman of wealth but who’s mental state and life has been deeply and tragically devastated by her father, Noah Cross. This role, in between 3 Days of the Condor and Network, illustrates her true ability as an actress. Her slight hesitant pause, as she tries to speak about her father, is achingly powerful.

And what of Noah Cross? Played with the eerie, sinister lilt of the magnificent John Huston, Cross is the true epitome of evil. How many times has a movie created a character based on the devil so contrived as to be laughable? Noah Cross isn’t the devil but he is evil to the core of his being and he utilizes his power to gain more power, whatever the cost. But if you’re a real sociopath, there is no cost; even the loss of a daughter gains Cross another.

The development and behind the scenes tales of the making of Chinatown is almost as intriguing as the movie itself. The book, The Big Goodbye, about the making of Chinatown and Hollywood, at the time, is to be made into a movie, by Ben Affleck. Roman Polanski’s life had just been turned upside down, by the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate by Charles Manson’s followers. Polanski’s collaboration with producer, Robert Evans and Screenwriter, Robert Towne is the stuff of legend but the friction, apparently was insane. The final touch, on a difficult shoot, was a bitter disagreement over the ending of the film. Towne wanted a happy ending but Polanski insisted on a tragic ending and the ending, though tragic, gives power and gravitas to a bravura of a film.

Chinatown is a story about the City of Angels and how the better angels played little part in the creation of Los Angeles. The background of the story is of political corruption regarding the water department in a world of drought. The powerful get rich on the sufferings of those with no power. The story could have been about Chavez Ravine in the fifties and how the construction of Dodger Stadium uprooted thousands of poor Mexicans. It could have been about Bell, this last decade, and the corrupt Bell City Council. The setting of Los Angeles is ripe with stories of every generation and culture overcoming powers, real and imaginary. It’s one of the reasons I love this area so much. The history is endless.

I still step in Chinatown, on my way to Dodger Stadium, and every time I do, I always think ….”Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”