**** (out of ****)
Dames. What can we do about them? You can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em. Am I right fellas? In the world of film noir it is always the dames that lead to the man's downfall. Are they more trouble than they are worth?
The very first image we see in director Roman Polanski's masterpiece, "Chinatown" (1974) is a photo of a man and woman in a field making love. The person holding the photo however is the husband (Burt Young) of the woman (Elizabeth Harding) in the photo. And that man in the photo is not her husband!
"Chinatown" is about many things. One of those things is women and their affect on men. Women can serve as redemptive figures for men. Traditionally, a man's job is to protect his woman. And if he isn't able to, it haunts him. Look at the poster for "Chinatown". The smoke from Jack Nicholson's cigarette seems to transform into a woman's face. To me the woman's face looks like a distant memory. A memory that hangs over Nicholson. Was she a woman that needed to be saved and protected? Did Nicholson meet his obligation as a man?
We come to discover Nicholson is Jakes Gittes, a former L.A. police officer turned private eye. He's the one that took those photos and the husband was his client. Jake spends a lot of time spying on people. He's usually hired by those that suspects their spouses are being unfaithful. Is that why Jake seems a bit disillusioned? Nothing in this world seems to phase Jake anymore. Jake is a secretive man though. He doesn't like talking about his past. But we know something bad happened. Something bad in Chinatown. It involved a woman. A woman he couldn't protect.
"Chinatown" was released in the same year as Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" (1974). Ironically both movies involve men that spy for a living. Both movies are also about guilt and redemption. Both men may have been responsible for the death a woman. Both men are lonely and incapable of allowing someone to get too close because of that experience.
Polanski's film is often thought of to be "neo-noir" - a revival of the film noir genre popularized in the 1940s. When "Chinatown" was initially released a lot of critics wanted to compare Nicholson to Humphrey Bogart. While Bogart was known for his role as gangsters, he also played private eyes - "The Big Sleep" (1946) and "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) - helping to solidify the archetype of the world-weary, hard-boiled detective. There was however a sensitivity to Bogart's characters. Sometimes it was suggested war changed him, other times it was because of a woman. Sometimes it was both. He tried to mask his vulnerability in cloak of cynicism. Think of his character Rick in "Casablanca" (1942). It's not entirely unlike Jake in "Chinatown". A woman may be his downfall and salvation - "can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em".
I too thought of Bogart and "The Maltese Falcon" watching "Chinatown" - its kind of difficult not to when that movie's director, John Huston, has an acting part here. But it wasn't because of the acting style or characters I made the comparison. It was because of the famous ending line in this movie, "forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown". As I heard that line I thought of the line Humphrey Bogart delivered in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "the stuff dreams are made of". Could there be a connection? The "Chinatown" line to me means, you can't stop bad things from happening. It's the way of world. "The stuff dreams are made of" I interpret as an explanation for why bad things happen - given the events of the film. To me, both lines provide a justification for the eventual violence man will unleash on his fellow man.
Is "Chinatown" really a morality play using the noir genre as a guise? I don't think "Chinatown" is so much interested in solving a murder mystery, as film noir often does, but rather in exposing corruption and man's determination to right the wrongs committed. That's what gives the "Chinatown" line such poignancy - the cycle of violence continues and there's nothing you can do about it Jake. You can't right the wrongs. You can't acquire the redemption your soul seeks, Jake.
Jake is hired by Evelyn Mulray (Diane Ladd) to trail her husband, Hollis (Darrell Zwerling) whom she suspects is cheating on her. Jakes recognizes the man's name as the chief engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He doesn't want to initially take her case. He advises her to simply go home and accept the fact that her husband loves her. It may be best if she doesn't know the truth. This is the complete opposite of the movie's first sequence. Is there an element of sexism involved? A man should know of his wife's infidelities but a woman should accept a husband's? Maybe. But it demonstrates Jake's sense of ethics and morality. He won't accept the married man's last dollar and allows him time to pay for the job. And by refusing a job from Evelyn, he loses an opportunity to make money. Why resist taking the case? "It's Chinatown" - it's the way of world. The married woman can't right the wrongs of her marriage. If she suspects her husband is cheating, he probably is. Jake seems completely unphased when Evelyn reveals her predicament. Eventually however Jake accepts the job.
The job turns out to be more than Jake bargained for. "Chinatown" slowly begins to weave its web of intrigue as things aren't what they seem to be. After Jake takes photos of Hollis with a young blonde, it ends up on the front paper of the newspaper. A scene in a barbershop makes Jake confront his ethics and morality when another customer questions how Jake makes a living - invading people's privacy and ruining lives. When Jake asks the man what does he do for a living, he finds out the man works at a bank. Foreclose on any families lately Jake asks. Who has the moral high ground?
Now Jake finds himself being sued by the real Evelyn Mulray (Faye Dunaway). Why was Jake set-up? Who was the woman pretending to be Mrs. Mulray? Was she working for someone? It becomes clear Jake was a small part of a big cover-up. The plot thickens when Hollis turns up dead. Being a man of ethics, Jake could walk away from all of this. He was paid after all by someone for a job that he completed. But wanting to clear his name, Jake wants answers to a lot of questions. Like are Hollis and a one-time partner, Noah Cross (John Huston) part of a giant scheme causing a drought to the people of Los Angeles by having the water irrigated elsewhere?
The way the film is structured it sets audiences up to expect something will happen between Jake and Evelyn. Both have secrets from their past. Each wants to find out the others. Is Evelyn the redemption Jake was seeking? Will Evelyn make up for whatever happened in Chinatown?
When you look at "Chinatown" from this perspective it isn't a mystery why Roman Polanski would have directed this material. Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate was infamously murdered in her home by the Mason Family. Polanski was in Europe making a film and wasn't around to protect his wife and their unborn child. Polanski couldn't right the wrong. This incident in Polanski's life would seem to be the motivating force behind so many of his directorial efforts.
The world Polanski creates in "Chinatown" is like the world he created in so many of his other films. A world where no one can be trusted. Who could Rosemary turn to in "Rosemary's Baby" (1968)? Would someone turn Wladyslaw Szpilman in "The Pianist" (2002)? Is Trelkovsky paranoid or going insane in "The Tenant" (1976)? Practically everyone in "Chinatown" is suspect. Who is the victim and who is the victimizer? No one seems to be on the level with Jake. Because of that we never know if what we are hearing or for that matter even seeing is the truth. Information is slowly and meticulously revealed to us.
What I haven't mentioned about "Chinatown" is the film is supposed to take place in the 1930s. Does that tell us anything? Was Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne using the 1930s tough guy image to contrast with the '70s sensitive male? Prior to "Chinatown" Nicholson was appearing in movies about masculinity in this new decade (the '70s). He started the decade off with "Five Easy Pieces" (1970). "Chinatown" like "Pieces" and "The Conversation" is a character study about men searching and struggling. About living with the choices we have made and being confronted by them.
There is a moment in "Chinatown", a quiet one, near the end of the movie. Jake arrives at a house and a woman opens the door. The woman has a black eye. A man approaches the door. It is the husband from the opening sequence. The woman was the wife in the photo. Here is another woman Jake didn't save. Sure he was doing a job taking photos but those photos created consequences. In that moment we can sense regret on Jake's face. The sequence however is about something else entirely but that moment was thrown in. Being confronted with the choices we have made. Think back to the sequence in the barbershop when again Jake was confronted about his actions.
"Chinatown" was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including best picture, director, actor, actress and best original screenplay, for which it did win. It was Polanski's first of three best director nominations. He would eventually win for "The Pianist". "Chinatown" is a very '70s movie. The kind of movie we don't get much of anymore. Slow and deliberate, multi-layered character studies. Today we like movies fast, direct and to the point. We don't want to think for ourselves. We want the answers given to us. That's too bad. In 1974 alone we got "The Godfather Part 2", "The Conversation", "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "Lenny" and "A Woman Under the Influence". Each one a masterpiece. Each one a story about people. It's why the '70s was the last great decade for American cinema. And "Chinatown" is right up there with them.
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