Movie Review by Bill Rendall

Chinatown

Water is our most precious resource although it is often taken for granted. Water is the root of a lot of evil in Chinatown. The movie is a period piece set in Los Angeles in the 1930s against the background of the California Water Wars. The era is carefully recreated through visual props and the music score by Jerry Goldsmith.

The central character is an ex-cop (Jack Nicholson) who used to work in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles. It is observed that it is very difficult for a cop to determine who is the criminal and who is the victim in Chinatown. The theme of moral ambiguity underpins the movie.

Nicholson makes a comfortable living as a private detective. He takes on what appears to be a routine adultery investigation. He gets drawn deeply into a dark, sinister world of corruption and murder. Along the way he encounters a femme fatale (Faye Dunaway). She keeps you guessing as to whether she is a victim or whether she is cruelly tormenting Nicholson. She is certainly deceptive but it is gradually revealed that she has justification for concealing her dark secrets.

Chinatown is directed by Roman Polanski who made his reputation in America directing Rosemary's Baby. Polanski makes a brief but unforgettable appearance in Chinatown playing a vicious thug who slices Nicholson's nose with a knife. Nicholson's bandaged nose becomes an iconic image of the movie.

Chinatown is notable for its cynical downbeat ending. The ending was devised by Polanski in opposition to the scriptwriter Robert Towne. Polanski was probably influenced by his own bitter experience of Los Angeles crazies, the Manson gang, taking his wife's life.

The ending was not the only part of the screenplay that Polanski and Towne disagreed about. The producer, Robert Evans, also had concerns about the screenplay. However, Towne had the satisfaction of being the only person to receive an Oscar for Chinatown although it received eleven nominations.

I recommend Chinatown as an engaging study of moral corruption, as relevant today as it was in the time in which it was set.

Director: Roman Polanski

Screenplay: Robert Towne

Music: Jerry Goldsmith

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