1974 | Auteur Theory

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Cast: Jack Nicholson [J.J. ‘Jake’ Gittes], Faye Dunaway [Evelyn Cross Mulwray], John Huston [Noah Cross]

J.J. Gittes, a private eye in Los Angeles, is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband’s activities. Jake’s investigation soon becomes something more than routine when he meets the real Mrs Mulwray and realises that he was hired by an imposter. Mr Mulwray’s sudden death leads Gittes into a trail of corruption, deception and eerie family secrets as Evelyn’s father becomes a suspect in the case.

Inspired by: California Water Wars (in history)

My rating: 8.5/10

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Narrative aspects

‘Chinatown’ is a brilliant example for the use of the three-act structure, a method of division used in story-telling to keep the plot cohesive, systematic and engaging for a reader or audience. It allows story-telling to fall under a fixed skeletal framework which follows a character on a journey through the beginning, middle and end (in a broad sense):

Act 1 is usually for the ‘Exposition’ or ‘Set-Up’ and establishes the main characters, the relationships and the universe of the story. Soon, the incident of the story takes place and the main character, usually the protagonist, is made aware of it by him/herself or another outside source. The attempts to deal with the incident usually spiral into a much more bigger or deeper problem. The first turning point takes place, which ‘(a) signals the end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic question that will be answered in the climax of the film.’ (Wikipedia)
- J.J. Gittes is introduced to the audience as a tenacious yet arrogant private investigator working on his own venture and firm to provide services to the general public. They are also introduced to his colleagues and rivals then witness the set up of a new case that seems to be like any regular infidelity-in-relationship deal when Mrs Mulwray comes to his office. Though however, Jake Gittes soon realises that an imposter came to his office that day and the real Mrs Mulwray suspects no problems in the relationship with her husband, who is found dead in the water days later. Jake takes the case as his main priority and realises soon that something bigger is going on.

Act 2 serves as the ‘Rising Action’ or ‘Conflict’ typically shows the protagonist try in resolving the problem that occurred during the previous act, only to find that the situation is worsening. The protagonist may be unable to solve the problems faced because he/she may not have the skills at hand to deal with it and the negative forces, the antagonist, he/she are fighting. The protagonist develops as a character with a greater understanding of their capabilities as well as a better awareness of their surroundings (a character arc). Usually, the protagonist is supported by others since they cannot achieve their goals alone.
- J.J. Grittes is seen uncovering the deeper and darker secrets of the situation regarding Mr Mulwray, Mrs Mulwray and her father Noah Cross, and how it all ties in with the problems involving the water supply in the city. J.J. Grittes does not seem to have the interrogative expertise to deal with the deadliness of the situation he has stumbled upon, though he develops as a character and the audience truly sees him grow as an individual who actually cares about the people he works for, in this case, Evelyn Mulwray.

Act 3 is the ‘Resolution’ of the story and its probable sub-plots (whether about character relationships or a side plot to the main one). This act contains the ‘Climax’ where the main tensions of the story are brought to their peak and the dramatic effect is heightened as well, usually leaving the protagonist and other characters involved with a greater new sense of who they are after having the main question answered. At a point, the victory for the protagonist may seem impossible but perseverance is witnessed along with the wisdom of new ideas or trials that finally lead him/her to success. Though however, in some stories, the characters are left with a cliffhanger or an unsatisfactory ending to what they were looking for. Nevertheless, the protagonist becomes more aware of their new capabilities.
- J.J. Grittes is made aware of Noah Cross and how big of a toll he is in the crime that he is in the process of solving. Noah Cross turns out to be more villainous than imagined when his abuse towards his daughter Evelyn is revealed. Grittes is battling between catching Cross while avoiding the police force, like Lieutenant Lou Escobar. In the end, the film reaches the climax where Grittes is threatened by Cross and thus the foreshadowing of no victory becomes true with Evelyn being shot dead and Cross taking custody of her daughter. The film leaves the audience with a strangely sad and satisfying end as the detective does not get the solution he wanted and worked for. In conclusion, the audience learns that “It’s Chinatown”.

Infer & Deduce: The reason for the title of the film does not strike at first but while watching the film it becomes apparent that it means more than just referencing to a cultural area in America named ‘Chinatown’. Throughout the film, China and people from that country are referenced but this still does not give a clear indication as to why the film devotes it’s identifying title to that place. One would think that it could be an expression for something but now, after the release of the film, it has more or less been used as it. Previously, using the word Chinatown would only be associated with the area belonging to that ethnicity but now the film has coined a phrase that continues to live on as an expression in conversation. But it all still bears the unanswered question as to why the film is called ‘Chinatown’. This doubt is cleared up when J.J. “Jake” Grittes first mentions that he had some dealings in the place Chinatown in the film while he was an officer. (This is further explored in the section ‘Favourite Scene’ below)

Technical Aspects

‘Chinatown’ is a film where the plot takes place in the realm of the plausible reality and even so since it does inspire its plot points from the actual California Water Wars incident. Because of this, the location and set designs used do resemble real life and mirror the personalities and living styles of people who most probably do exist, like business magnates and their families, and private investigators and police officers. Scenes in natural environments like many desert scenes seem to use prominent natural lighting and are shot during the day to set the scene better for the audience to understand. Moreover, the film makes great use of suburban town life and uses empty streets outside shops and houses for scenes of J.J. Grittes following suspects or the suspects making a getaway.

Moving forward, the soundtrack of the film compliments the genre as well as the scenes in the film as Grittes follows suspects and continues the investigation at certain locations or in his office. Though it is interesting to note that this film does have a minimal use of soundtrack to convey certain emotions or carry on as the background for a scene. The lack of non-diegetic music and the prominence of silence present in the film reflects the reality of the situation, wherein normal real life people do not have music to compliments the emotions they feel in a given situation, and it is merely a tool used in visual mediums to convey to an audience more non-spoken details about characters, plots, settings or themes. In scenes where Gittes is on a stake-out, following characters while maintaining his anonymity, the silence heightens the tension and the reality of keeping quiet in a critical situation like it when a detective is investigating. The audience is taken on a journey into the inner workings of a detective and how they complete their tasks, whether morally or immorally.

Above all, like many of the films in history and especially considering the mystery genre, camera techniques play an important role in the way in which an audience perceives a situation and how it affects the progression of the plot. In ‘Chinatown’ the camera usually follows the viewing field of the character it is focused on (in most cases J.J. Grittes) tracing their gaze and seeing what the character sees without the scene being in the first person point of view. Furthermore, the camera moves with pans and dollies to reveal certain subjects in a scene, people or objects, that were not visible before, which goes well with the mystery genre since the idea of it is all about revealing the unknown and figuring out the solution to a probably unsolvable problem. An example of this is a scene towards the beginning of the film where Jake is watching a man out in the desert with binoculars. The camera follows the man but then dollies out and pans to the right to reveal Jake standing by a pillar and keeping an eye on his actions.

Favourite Scene

When a film maintains the level of suspense and intrigue created in the audience throughout its entire time-frame, an ending to it needs to be worthy and ‘Chinatown’ has a conclusion that was sort of uncalled for but satisfying. After learning the abusive truth about Mrs Mulwray’s father, Jake confronts Noah Cross and is only challenged by his superiority in status that stops Jake from arresting him. Noah ends up getting away with shooting his daughter Evelyn and taking custody of his granddaughter (and daughter), winning the entire showdown and leaving Jake in a silent stare.

This scene is not only powerful as it brings about this fantastic story to an end but it also sports a created phrase that is still used in places today:

Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.

— Lawrence Walsh

This line at first seems to be nothing more than a plain reference to Jake’s previous workings in the location of Chinatown as an officer and having some tough times while completing cases. However, this saying does have a deeper meaning to the entire situation the film depicted. The phrase said by Lawrence Walsh, J.J. Gittes partner, simply means that ‘what happens, happens’ and there is nothing a mere man like Jake can do anything about. He is just one man in front of a powerful individual like Noah Cross, which would make it seem as if Jake worked on the case with both hands tied behind his back. Jake continues to battle against the injustice of the law system and how wealth and status is majorly determined by how much money a person has with them, which is exactly the factor that makes Noah Cross the superior being in the situation and allows him to swiftly get away with the murder and abuse of his daughter and her husband Mr Mulwray. The film sheds light on a very real and important issue in society as injustice takes place on a regular occasion, sadly, whether to do with race, religion, gender, age, money or occupation. Despite the level of education, people receive and the awareness created in relation to current events, prejudice still runs the day and this is exactly seen in ‘Chinatown’, though however, no one dares to challenge Noah Cross since he could practically buy out the police force or the best lawyers the country has to offer.

The audience also sees the character development in Jake Gittes, from appearing as an extremely confident and arrogant private investigator to one that now seems to actually care about the people he works for and wants the best for them. The expression of despair and loss is clear on his face when he sees Mrs Mulwray’s blood-soaked body in the driver seat of the car, clearly depicting that he really feels the weight of being taken advantage of and no matter how much he would want to help and make things right (take down Noah Cross) he is helpless and cannot do anything. Jake has turned towards having his own private eye venture after leaving the police force to better help the people who hire him, where the police would shrug off. He even states when he is getting a shave at the barber’s shop that:

Listen, pal. I make an honest living. People only come to me when they’re in a desperate situation. I help ’em out. I don’t kick families out of their houses like you bums down at the bank do.

This would portray Jake as someone who wants the good of the community to be the product of his work and be someone who is there for people when the police would not. Though the last scene makes it clear that no matter how good at heart Jake, or in fact anyone, is there is no stopping the people with power over everyone else who can sway the sympathies of special forces that govern a country’s way of running.

What would I do differently?

Being an avid fan of the mystery genre, ‘Chinatown’ appealed to me as a film. The story is intriguing and keeps an audience engaged till the resolution, or mystery’s answer, at the end whether it is seen as justice or not. I would not change anything about the film as it starred brilliant characters and an issue addressed that is factual (the California water wars). Although, making it with modern day camera and effect quality would make the film much more suited appearance-wise for the audience of today. Moreover, this film’s narrative would actually suit as a televised mini-series going on for a season of 5 to 10 episodes. Jack Nicholson as the main character, did an amazing job portraying the character of Jake Grittes and his arrogant but considerate attitude towards helping the people who hire him. To add on, the director and the screenwriter brilliantly captured the essence of an issue that was, in reality, a big part of history for the USA, while the rest of the crew brought the mise-en-scene to enhance the atmosphere at everyone moment in the film.