Yup, starting to move through the Netflix list again, though Zach still thinks I'm not going through it fast enough :) Here's one of the more recent rentals: Chinatown.
Jack Nicholson plays a private detective (Jake Gittes) in 1930s LA who is hired on a case of suspected adultery. However, it turns out that the woman who hired him is not who she claims to be. In investigating further, Gittes uncovers a conspiracy of blackmail, corruption, murder (all the standard fun stuff) focusing on water rights supplying the growing LA area.
The feel of this movie is great! I love old film noir and suspense, and this fits in perfectly to the genre. All the elements are there - jaded and sarcastic private eye, beautiful women in distress (much of it her own making), corrupt and evil and (at best) untrustworthy people surrounding them. This probably ranks up there with The Maltese Falcon, honestly. (More trivia for you: John Huston, who plays manipulative Noah Cross, directed The Maltese Falcon. Now you know.)
It's interesting to look at this, compared to older film noir, and to movies today. This would be a totally different movie made today, or if it had been made in the peak of film noir. There's a lot in this movie that couldn't have been dealt with in the 1940s film-making, but at the same time, it might be reworked to death today - the ending especially I can see being softened and losing it's punch. I liked how one review on imdb put it, that this is more of a "film" than a "movie" - no overblown special effects, no forced happy ending, more focused on the story than on making money as a blockbuster. Darkness can depend so much on atmosphere, which isn't just nudity and guns and swearing. Just dealing with the human dark side can give the suitable atmosphere. And this is dark, as movies go. But it's satisfyingly dark. I don't know if I'm putting this right, but some movies can't have happy endings. Life is Beautiful is another one - not dark necessarily, but there couldn't be a happy ending. Satisfying, yes, but not happy. As the final line says "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Just give up, because you can't fight it.
It's interesting to look at this, compared to older film noir, and to movies today. This would be a totally different movie made today, or if it had been made in the peak of film noir. There's a lot in this movie that couldn't have been dealt with in the 1940s film-making, but at the same time, it might be reworked to death today - the ending especially I can see being softened and losing it's punch. I liked how one review on imdb put it, that this is more of a "film" than a "movie" - no overblown special effects, no forced happy ending, more focused on the story than on making money as a blockbuster. Darkness can depend so much on atmosphere, which isn't just nudity and guns and swearing. Just dealing with the human dark side can give the suitable atmosphere. And this is dark, as movies go. But it's satisfyingly dark. I don't know if I'm putting this right, but some movies can't have happy endings. Life is Beautiful is another one - not dark necessarily, but there couldn't be a happy ending. Satisfying, yes, but not happy. As the final line says "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Just give up, because you can't fight it.
The acting was awesome, just tight and tense and intense, like good film noir should be. Faye Dunaway was alright (I've never been a huge fan) but she certainly suited the look of the part, if nothing else. John Huston is rather disturbing, as villains go - seemingly normal, but really manipulative and corrupt and a little mad. And worse, he has power, so can act on his madness. All that expressed in relatively few scenes - really, a great job with the character. I have to say this though - what happened to Jack Nicholson!? Not in acting - he's still great now, but MAN, he looks so different in this movie! I'd never thought him handsome (charismatic, yes, but not handsome) and he just about pulls it off here!! I guess it's because I'd never seen him in a role this old before (i.e. when he was this young). My viewing experience had been Batman and since, so since the 80s. Chinatown was 1974, so 10 years does make a difference!
Cameo: director Roman Polanski is the short thug who slices up Gittes' nose. I knew he was tiny, but goodness!
Interesting note: this is based loosely on real events. Not the specific case itself, but California did have a period called the California Water Wars, when water rights for LA were being established. The engineer Mulwray's name is most likely a play on the name of the engineer who helped develop the LA public waterworks. Engineer William Mulholland (1855-1935) brought the Owens River to Los Angeles, but it was one of those corruption filled efforts (thank you, Wikipedia!), thus inspiring the events of the movie. After living out here in the southern CA desert, I can totally understand how people would get so wrapped up over water rights.
Overall: 4.5 of 5. I wouldn't mind having it on the shelf, but I don't know if it's one I'd watch frequently. Definitely worth at least one view though - one of those classics everyone should see at least once - great script, great acting, great directing. Just be prepared for a heavier movie - nothing light'n'fluffy here.
PS - I really liked this discussion from imdb's page on Chinatown, so have copied it here. This is definitely one of those movies with 'layers' (I put it down here on the page, since there's a few spoilers in it)
- What is the meaning of "Chinatown"?
Chinatown is the place of Jake's past. He talks about how he tried to keep a woman from being hurt and ended up making sure she was hurt; about how they tried to do 'as little as possible' because to do anything would often result in innocents getting hurt. His experience in Chinatown was the reason he left the force and probably explains his initial cynicism. It also foreshadows the conclusion, where he again makes sure a woman is hurt even when he tries to help her. Chinatown is the place and state of mind that always comes back to haunt him and is part of a vicious cycle of the rich and powerful succeeding over the poor and disenfranchised. The final line points up the cycle of violence and the desire to simply forget all about it; because there's nothing you can anyways. Jake spends the entire film trying to get at the truth, trying to help a woman, and all his efforts result in her death and a continuation of the cycle. I guess Chinatown could be any place in or near LA, but its 'otherness' probably contributes to the feeling of displacement and uselessness. And 'Forget it, Jake. It's Glendale' just doesn't have the same ring to it.
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