#21 - Chinatown

It was both better and worse than I expected. This is the second time I've tried to watch this 1974 neo-noir film about corruption, adultery, and family secrets. The first time, I couldn't get through the first thirty minutes without being bored out of my mind ("This is a movie about a private detective and the local water authority??" is what I said in my impressionable youth).

But five years later, I thought I would enjoy and understand the movie more. My brother told me a few nights ago that it wasn't that great, so I once again dreaded watching it. So last night, before going to bed, I popped in "Chinatown" and what I saw was one of the more interesting films of the last forty years.

The story is told entirely from J.J. (Jake) Gittes, a private detective in 1937 Los Angeles (it is told entirely from his perspective in that he is in every scene, and when he passes out, there is a cut to black and a fade-in when he comes to). Jack Nicholson does his usually best with the role, making him unlikable but out for justice nonetheless.

Faye Dunaway plays a mystical femme fatale with a sordid secret, Katherine Mulwray (Dunaway shares the distinction with two other actresses to have acted in three films on the list). Her performance is one of the film's strongest suits. Almost always enveloped in a halo of cigarette smoke, Mulwray is seen from the outset as a woman with something to hide. What Gittes discovers, step-by-step, is so deliciously scandalous that it's hard to watch some of the final gut-wrenching moments.

The main titles set the tone for the rest of the movie. The seductive trumpet playing "Love Theme from 'Chinatown'" is perfect for the movie you're about to see. I just have to post a YouTube video of the song -- it's a must-listen.

So overall, the film was great, but I was hoping for a little more umph. The plot meandered near the middle, but the final payoff was well worth the wait, and the lack of sleep.