Review of Chinatown (1974) by Swati — 10 Feb 2014

Chinatown is one of the most impressive examples of neo-noir I have ever seen. It has got a cocky detective investigating a complex mystery, lots of smoking and drinking, music that lulls the mind, and a hot woman or two.

When Jake is approached by a woman who wants to find out if her husband has been cheating on her, he discourages her as not everything that could be found is worth finding out about. Sure enough, he finds that there is another girl and the story leaks to the papers. But then another woman, who is the real Mrs. Mulwray, shows up and threatens to sue him.

Mr. Mulwray is frequently spotted around places looking at soil. Mrs. Mulwray lies with her every word. What is she hiding? Jake goes from one person to another in search of the truth. He knows there is something everyone is keeping from him. That is the whole mystery and what he must find out. No one is who they seem to be. People die and he is chased and escapes death several times.

Mr. Mulwray is against the building of a dam, arguing that the last one that he helped build resulted in an accident that killed hundreds. The city is against him as they can't seem to understand his reasoning_ LA is going dry and something must be done.

There are swindlers at every turn and when Jake comes upon them he is overwhelmed. Mrs. Mulwray is her only ally, and whether he likes it or not, or even trusts her, there's no one else who is going to believe the fantastic story he is going to tell them for the truth.

The time and the life depicted_ 1930s was caught authentically with the set design, costumes, cars, rooms etc. Polanski lingers on the environment and lets us become a part of it and feel it completely. Chinatown is as much about the experience of that time as it is about the water dispute and the deaths surrounding it. The sense of despair, so essential to the genre, is exemplified in the ending. From the plot and the intrigue to the mind-boggling mystery to the set design to the character development, Chinatown is one of the most perfect films ever made.