Polanski's scorching neo-noir, originally seen as a pastiche of the great hard boiled thrillers of the likes of Huston, has more than earnt its place alongside these classics. It was a bold choice to allude so directly to the greats of the noir genre, however, Chinatown more than lives up to these comparisons. What is on the surface a simple evocation of this style - appropriating faithfully many genre conventions - is as profoundly unsettling as any of the classics; the film now feels like a vital moment in the progression of the genre, perhaps the defining neo-noir feature.
Given the somewhat inextricable link of film noir to black and white, it is remarkable that Chinatown's sunny setting seems to fit in with the genre so seamlessly. It is a film of dusty browns and dry yellows; cinematographer John A. Alonzo paints LA as an arid wasteland, almost debilitated by the profound corruption found at its core. We see a city that seems to have been sucked dry, aptly reflecting the effects of the rapacious greed of the men that control it. The contrast between the sunlit backdrop and the distinctly dark themes explored in the film make their presence all the more unsettling. This dissonance serves to heighten the atmosphere of disquiet - we are left questioning everything - just as bemused as our protagonist Jake Gittes.
Nicholson's portrayal of the Bogartian private investigator Gittes is brilliant - wisecracking throughout - he is played with the world weary nonchalance of a man who has seen everything. Working in the tradition of the great noir anti-hero, he is a character with a tough exterior that ultimately fails to obscure an irrepressible romanticism. Just as good is Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray. A magnetic enigma - central to the mysterious plot - that Gittes finds himself falling for, she is played with a cool, refined yet delicate air that paints a picture of a woman trying to hide a profound fragility.
Both performances are nuanced, each possessing a vulnerability that is central to their character; throughout the film we can infer the disconnect between the persona that they project and the reality of their feelings. The characters are united by the suppression of some sort of past trauma that serves to emphasise the far-reaching omnipotence of the evil found in this depiction of LA. Via Evelyn's dark past, we are shown the inevitable loss of innocence that this world causes. In Gittes' case, the frequent reminders of his fallibility in the face of corruption affirms its influence; we of course have the visual reminder of his nose bandage, but also his repeated inability to save women from Chinatown's perverted power.
Robert Towne's script is also suitably sharp - playing on the reliable private-eye blueprint drawn up by Raymond Chandler - it possesses slick wit, a labyrinthine plot and smart foreshadowing. When Gittes is told by Mrs Mulwray that her husband thinks he is innocent, he responds "Well, I've been accused of a lot of things Mrs Mulwray, but never that", quick-witted remarks such as this are frequent. The script also keeps you guessing throughout; only moderately less elaborate than The Big Sleep's famously puzzling plot, we are twisted this way and that as deeper and deeper layers of deceit are uncovered. These central themes are also nimbly alluded to in the first portion of the film. We have mentions of rich men getting away with murder and of course the "department of water and power", what would seem to be an intimation of the important role of water in the city.
Perhaps above all else though, it is the anarchically pessimistic streak that runs through the centre of Chinatown that endears me to it. Every sequence of the film is laced with a sense of deep melancholia that elevates it to something more profound than a simple hodgepodge of noir traditions. This mercilessly uncompromising approach is epitomised by the film's brilliantly bleak climax, where Jake's toils against the pervasive influence of evil ultimately fail. The famous final line says it all. "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown", a gloriously fatalistic flourish.
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