Chinatown
1974
* * * 1/2
In 1930s LA, private detective J.J. Grittes (Jack Nicholson) gets wrapped up in what looks at first to be a simple plot, but turns out to be an incredibly intricate scheme by super-rich Noah Cross (John Huston) involving not just a beautiful dame (Faye Dunaway), but a huge number of ordinary people. Now, film noir is supposed to be dark, so this fits in perfectly. It's absolutely pitch black.
Robert Townsend won an Oscar for his complicated, convoluted, and a bit confusing but undeniably intelligent, witty, and compelling screenplay. And yet, he's really outdone by all the people who were nominated but didn't win.
Nicholson gives what might be the best performance of his entire career --- not because of how crazy he is, because he isn't. It's how subdued he is. For once, it isn't about having a fun time watching Nicholson be Nicholson. It's Nicholson truly going into a character and making him ordinary and believable but also interesting and enjoyable to watch. After this, I can't imagine anyone except maybe Humpherey Bogart even approaching the level Nicholson achieves. Not only does he do all the one-liners and tough stuff superbly, but he comes across as totally human and, at times, pretty darn scared of the events going on, all without ever overacting in the least.
Huston is a brilliant villain --- one of the greatest. I really can't think of many other characters in a film that are this terrifying and yet come across as someone you could get along with easily if you didn't know them too well.
And Dunaway is superb. The slow revelation of who she really is works largely through her performance, and her horrifying past comes across believably.
The recreation of 1940s LA is wonderful, helped by an equally wonderful Jerry Goldsmith score (which, amazingly, was only written in 10 days) and John A. Alonzo?s cinematography.
All of this is pulled together by director Roman Polanski. Without him, the film?s atmosphere, subtle intensity, and power would never have come through.
Finally, the ending. The climactic scene is an unforgettably tragic, stunning conclusion. The long final shot has an incredible effect. It?s also a little too abrupt, but it is truly unforgettable.
The movie was deservedly nominated for about a million Oscars but only managed to get away with a single one for Towne. However, since it lost most of those to The Godfather Part II, it isn't a great travesty that it ended up with only the nods. Interestingly, though, it beat Godfather II for Film, Director, and Actor at the Golden Globes, and won Actor, Director, and Screenplay at the British Academy Awards (although it wasn't up against Coppola's film there).
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