There was a time when film noir, was an art form. It was a genre, that lasted for a generation. It was, like the western, character driven. It, like westerns, made actors into stars. This was the case, with Humphrey Bogart. He was a struggling actor, for years. Suddenly, he became famous overnight, with The Maltese Falcon. This granddaddy of film noir, started it all. Film noir, was almost forgotten. That was until, Chinatown. This film revived the genre, and made stars out of Nicholson and Dunaway.
The interesting thing about Chinatown, is its casting of John Huston. He plays Noah Cross, the bad guy. In a bit of irony, Huston, was the director of The Maltese Falcon. He plays his character well, and does justice to the acting legacy of his father,Walter. In true film noir fashion, the audience, never gets true insight into his character.
The movie moves well, with Nicholson playing J.J. Gittes, a private detective. He is investigating Evelyn Mulwray’s husband, for adultery. Gittes does find him, and takes pictures. It turns out that pictures of the lovers, turns up in the paper. Much to Gittes chagrin, the real Mrs. Mulray, (Faye Dunaway), confronts him, threatening a lawsuit. It is an awkward first meeting. Gittes is telling a crude joke, and doesn’t realize she’s standing behind him. While investigating, Gittes uncovers a scandal involving the water bureau, where Mr. Mulray is chief engineer. Mrs. Mulray, soon becomes a widow, when her husband’s body is found in the river bed. Gittes puts things together, and want to investigate further. Mrs. Mulray, asks him to stop, fearing many things will surface. Gittes, like most P. I’s in these movies, encounters trouble. Many get hit over the head or beat up. J.J. Gittes nearly drowns, and gets his nose sliced, trying to find the facts. These things don’t keep Gittes from sleeping with the widow, Mrs. Mulray. Everything comes to a head, when Gittes finds the terrible truth, involving Evelyn Mulray, her late husband and Noah Cross. That is what makes Chinatown a little different, from standard noir.
Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, act well together. It seems like they watched the best film noir, and then filmed the movie. They were helped along by Roman Polanski: he wrote the film, along with Robert Townsend. He changed the ending, to his satisfaction. It still works, because it fits in with the theme of corruption. Polanski has also given contrasts in the film. The audience sees Gittes going about his work. He is leisurely taking pictures on a boat, on a sunny day. In the beginning Nicholson wears a white suit. He later wears darker colors. He goes from the sunny day, to going into the restricted dam at night, where he is confronted by Noah Cross’ enforcers. It is this stark contrast, that gives it a good feel for this genre.
A film like Chinatown derives from film noir. It’s newer cinema term, is neo-noir. This began a renaissance of these films. Chinatown was unique among films for the seventies. It did follow the trend, of downbeat, but watchable films. This movie was such a trendsetter, that Humphrey Bogart, would have said good job Jack.