Chinatown (1974) Review

 

Chinatown (1974)

Chinatown follows private investigator, Jake Gittes, after he takes a simple case of an affair, that turns into a conspiracy of murder, riches, and cover ups that sends him back to where he got his start.

This was my introduction to Roman Polanski and I gotta say, wow. It starts out simple, seemingly like a classic neo-noir thriller, with having an investigation that slowly unravels itself over the course of the story. But it proves itself to be so much more, sprinkling in bits of Jake’s past as a cop in Chinatown and how they formed his cynical world view. The mystery is slow to unfold, revving up in the third act though and never looking back, dropping bombshell after bombshell, one of which would’ve solved the case from the start. The 1930s Los Angeles setting is also a subtle touch that doesn’t attempt to do too much and gives the film a beautiful aesthetic.

Jack Nicholson is a tour de force here as the witty and exhausted private investigator who finds himself on the receiving end of danger and violence as he tries to figure out the truth between a mans mysterious murder and the connection it holds with drought in Los Angeles. The supporting cast really adds to the tension and suspense, including Faye Dunaway, John Huston, and Perry Lopez. Dunaway nails Evelyn here, with viewer interpretation flip flopping multiple times as her true intentions are revealed.

Chinatown is a thrilling noir mystery that uses it’s many secrets to build up to a horrifying and gut-wrenching ending that leaves you feeling awful as Evelyn is killed, and her rapist father gets control of her (and his) daughter and gets away scott-free, as Jake is left helpless in a finale that directly mirrors his first time in Chinatown. It leaves you uneasy and the entire third act was excellently built up to give Jake and Evelyn a chance, only to let you down in the most miserable and shocking way imaginable.
One of the most brutally cold endings since No Country for Old Men.

9.7/10