Chinatown (1974)
About This Movie
A private detective investigating a routine adultery case in 1930s Los Angeles stumbles into a conspiracy involving the city's water supply, political corruption, and a family secret so dark it redefines the meaning of the word 'tragedy.' Roman Polanski directed Robert Towne's meticulous screenplay with a sense of doom that permeates every sun bleached frame, making the California sunshine feel more oppressive than any noir shadow.
Why It's a Classic
Towne's screenplay is considered by many to be the greatest ever written for an American film, a labyrinthine plot that functions simultaneously as detective story, political allegory, and Greek tragedy. Jack Nicholson's Jake Gittes is a detective who thinks he is smart enough to unravel anything, and the film's devastating power comes from watching a competent, resourceful man realize that competence means nothing against entrenched power. Faye Dunaway's Evelyn Mulwray carries a secret so painful that her performance seems to vibrate with suppressed anguish, and the revelation scene remains one of the most wrenching in cinema. Polanski's direction strips away every comfort of the detective genre: there is no triumphant resolution, no justice, no satisfying explanation. The final line, 'Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown,' has become shorthand for the moment when you realize the system is designed to protect the powerful and consume everyone else.
Fun Fact
Robert Towne spent years researching the actual Los Angeles water wars of the early 1900s, in which William Mulholland diverted water from the Owens Valley to fuel L.A.'s growth, destroying farming communities in the process. Polanski and Towne had a famous disagreement about the ending; Towne wanted Evelyn to survive and kill her father, but Polanski insisted on the bleak conclusion, believing that after the real life horrors he had experienced, a happy ending would be dishonest. The knife wound on Nicholson's nose was inflicted onscreen by Polanski himself in a cameo as the thug with the switchblade.
Parent Note
The film deals with incest, rape, murder, and systemic corruption. The central revelation involves sexual abuse of a child. There is a scene of a character being shot and killed, and a knife wound to the face. Language is period appropriate with some profanity. Rated R. The disturbing content is handled with restraint rather than exploitation, but the thematic darkness makes this a film for mature viewers. The despair of the ending is earned but unrelenting.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1974
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Mystery / Thriller
- Age Group
- Adults (Ages 18+)