Loosely based around the California water wars, Roman Polanski’s
final American film stars Jack Nicholson as Private Investigator Jake Gittes.
Gittes is hired by a woman claiming to be the wife of the chief engineer of Los
Angeles Water and Power as she believes her husband is having an affair. Gittes
uncovers the alleged affair which opens up a twisting tale of deception, double
crossing, profiteering and murder. Often sited as one of the greatest Neo-Noir
and mystery films of all time, it helped to cement Jack Nicholson’s status as
an A List star and nearly forty years on still has a timeless feel and
wonderfully layered curiosity about it.
Although I thought Chinatown was an excellent film I found myself zoning
in and out of it as I watched. I don’t know why though as there is very little
I didn’t like and I think this says more about my frame of mind at the time
than the film itself. Despite my concentration waning, I noted several
wonderful things about Polanski’s classic Noir gem.
