There is a fine line between intentional homage and plagiarism, and at times Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” has a hard time not crossing it but there is also so much individuality inserted into the film that by the end nobody can accuse it of being unoriginal.
I think to refer to “Chinatown” as “noir-inspired” or “in the noir style” is unfair to the film. Even though it wasn’t made in the time of the “Production Code” that limited what movies could discus and depict it just follows the style too closely to be considered anything less. The opening credits include the classic Paramount logo and old Broadway fonts while being rolled over speakeasy music. After the lengthy credits a black and white photo pops up onscreen of a man and woman having sex in a park, then flipping between several more shots of the same couple. The effect employed is amazing, as a popping sound proceeds each new image- it isn’t until the camera pans away that we realize it is someone looking at the pictures and the sound is them being discarded rather than a flashbulb slideshow montage as is implied.
I could have almost copy and pasted the first section of my “The Maltese Falcon” and applied it to this entry when describing the introductory scenes of “Chinatown” but I just don’t operate that way. It turns out the person who took the photos is a private investigator named Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) and the man examining them is a client who has hired him to confirm that his wife is cheating on him. Not only does this establish exactly what kind of detective Jake is but also what kind of clientele he attracts as the man (Burt Young) explains that he won’t be able to pay for the services rendered right away. Jake’s next client is another noir fixture, the veiled smoking woman of significant means. Though he doesn’t seem interested in the case Jake is shocked to learn that the woman is the wife of Los Angeles’ Water and Power Administrator Hollis Mulwray and she suspects he is having an affair.
Jake nonchalantly starts his investigation by attending an L.A. City Council Meeting where a debate is taking place concerning the building of a dam and threats of a drought are tossed around. There are some interesting but kind of too “in your face” tactics used to date the film in this scene, including Jake perusing a horse racing guide featuring Seabiscuit as well as a large photo of FDR hanging in the Council chambers (of course assuming they are following protocol by having a photo of the sitting President in a government building)- in other words, depression-era. What we gather from the scene is that Mulwray opposes the dam project and supports his argument by back-referencing a previous, similar blunder. Though the farmers who have shown up to voice their support for the dam are irate at his presentation, the pained, guilty look on Mulwray’s face implies that there is more than meets the eye.
In addition to Mulwray’s nerdy appearance and constantly working on Water and Power related issues the film does an excellent job of implying that he probably is honest and decent as well as implying that the politicians who are pushing for the dam project might be crooked. The more blatant way this is done is through dialogue; the mayor pushing for $8,000,000 so insistently, Mulwray making references to having been tricked before etc. But more artistically, there always seems to be water present- suggesting without suggesting that the drought concerns may be unfounded. This is illustrated in little ways such as Jake being soaked by a drain pipe that liberally spews water near an already well watered, ocean-adjacent cove, an always-full water cooler in Jake’s office, the audible splashing of water as one of Jake’s assistants develops photos of Mulwray and the eventual discovery that Mulwray DOES have a mistress who he is spotted with in a rowboat in Echo Park. So much of the film points to an abundance of water without saying a word about it.
And of course what is a good noir detective story without an interesting plot twist; particularly a threat of legal action from Mulwray’s wife Evelyn (Faye Dunaway) who is decidedly NOT the woman who hired him to spy on Mr. Mulwray. Essentially, the woman who initially arrived claiming to be Mrs. Mulwray was just trying to dig up dirt on him- none of which seems to matter much after Mulwray turns up dead; ironically, his body is pulled from a reservoir.
“Isn’t this something? Middle of a drought and the Water Commissioner drowns! Only in L.A.” (Morty the Coroner, “Chinatown”)
With the focus of the investigation now being who would want to defame and/or kill Mulwray, Jake continues to poke around the various beaches and reservoirs in L.A. While talking with local policemen we find out that Jake was an LAPD officer before becoming a detective. One former colleague in particular mentions that he has been transferred out of Chinatown. Though the conversation seems like small talk, Jake’s reaction to just a mention of Chinatown implies that it represents a lot of demons.
Eventually Jake is able to piece together that Mulwray was murdered because he knew too much in relation to the hoarding of the water supply as well as his opposition to funding the dam project but there are still several missing pieces in the puzzle. Evelyn hires Jake to fill in the blanks- many of which can seemingly be explained by Evelyn’s father/Mulwray’s former business partner Noah Cross (John Huston). Not only does Cross seem unwilling to cooperate, he also tries to divert Jake’s attention away from him by hiring him to find Mulwray’s mistress.
The various twists and turns the plot undergoes all end up pointing to one consistent theme; corruption. Political corruption from the officials who are behind the water scam, police corruption as it relates to Jake’s former associates and superiors in Chinatown and moral corruption- even Evelyn admits to having cheated on her husband as well and even begins sleeping with Jake while he is still working for her. After their first sexual encounter, Evelyn pushes Jake into confiding about the skeleton in his closet relation to Chinatown, though all he is willing to divulge is that the place is “bad luck” and that he quit the police force after a woman he was trying to protect (and presumably cared for) was killed. Again harkening back to the theme of corruption.
A lot of big twists and turns all lead to the one big twist and turn; Mulwray’s “mistress” is also Evelyn’s sister… and daughter. I understand that there needed to be some unspeakable darkness in Evelyn’s life, as well as an act that could cement Noah Cross as something more horrible than just a cartoonish corrupt man of power role. Yes this revelation achieves its aim of extreme shock value but it also feels like it’s a little much. More to the point, the scene where Jake beats this startling revelation out of Evelyn is so absurd it is comedic. He slaps her repeatedly until she blurts out the truth to a point that is reminiscent of a Three Stooges film.
Evelyn attempts to take her sister/daughter and escape her incestuous father’s grasp at the end of the film, culminating in a confrontation involving almost all the principle characters on the streets of Chinatown. Jake’s tragic history repeats itself when the police, now revealed to be under the thumb of Noah Cross, shoot Evelyn to death and turn over his daughter/granddaughter to him. Jake is reminded that it is Chinatown and there is nothing he can do. Both implying that nothing can or will ever be done about the corruption and also that Chinatown will continue to represent demons for Jake. This ending is even less satisfactory due to the fact that we now know it is very possible that Noah Cross could have been behind the initial dark incident from Jake’s past.
“Chinatown” kinda writes a check its butt can’t cash by requiring far too much emotion from Faye Dunaway than she is capable of providing, and there are just too many people involved in the shady goings on, which makes it hard to care about the abundance of characters that get trotted across the screen. It does however do a good job of trying everything together in the end, and at least nobody can accuse it of having an oversimplified plot. Ultimately though, what makes “Chinatown” work is the marriage of contemporary violence and sex with perfectly executed modern noir.
I’ve always said there is something special about watching an artist get to be a fan. Bruce Springsteen’s “Seeger Sessions” Tour, the look on Brian Wilson’s face when he performs a Phil Spector song and Roman Polanski getting to show off his love for film history are my Exhibit A, B and C for this case. And I would much rather Polanski commit this interest to film than some of the other things he’s into. I don’t need to be watchin’ no kiddie porn…
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