Chinatown

Back in the early days of this blog, I saw The Shining and was amazed at how Kubrick managed to craft such a finely-tuned film that I rank it among the best. It also introduced me to Jack Nicholson's fantastic filmography and truly explained why he is considered one of the best leading men. I had already seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Departed and a few others, but this really made me want to see more of his work so here I am now with Roman Polanski's (oh dear) Chinatown from 1974.

Aside from the odd The Simpsons reference, I knew very little about this one. The various posters suggested a detective / noir film but then I thought that this came out in the gritty 1970s, a time not known for glamorisation. America had changed with the Vietnam war and so had its cinema. What I did know was that this film reflected the changing attitudes and offered a more cynical look at 1930s LA, highlighting issues from a period that had largely gone unheard of until this film.

Nicholson stars as private investigator, Jake Gittes, who is hired by the wife of an important engineer about an ongoing affair but soon finds himself caught up in much more than he bargained. Without going into detail, the story expands and becomes more complex, but there is just something so great about the screenplay that makes it easy to follow.

It has been said that it is harder to write a positive review than a negative one, particularly when this is so highly decorated, is among the AFM top 100 films and selected by the Liberty of Congress to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry for films that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant", and they are right! What I can say though is that if you do choose to give this film your time, it is one of those gems that leaves you feeling as if you just saw something great.

Despite what the director is known for today, his direction is spot-on to perfection and it is not hard to understand why the screenplay is seen as the perfect template for writers today. Polanski knew exactly how to unravel the story and when to give the viewer time to understand everything. It is this pacing that is sorely missed in many other films, despite their attempts to imitate this.

Chinatown is the combination of everything that makes a great mystery film and a great film in general. Nicholson and the cast are at the top of their game, it looks brilliant, the script couldn't be sharper and the soundtrack is fantastic without overriding the story. With films like this, I can see why many consider the 1970s to be the best decade for film, and it should go without saying that Chinatown gets my full recommendation. It's dark, gritty and complex but so very worth it.