Review of Chinatown (1974) by Wulfas — 25 Jan 2016

Per usual, i'm gonna divide my review into 5 parts I will talk about: Directing, Cinematography,Writing,Score and finally Acting.

Directing - Is really impressive, but for me it was the weakest part of the film, even though I think this movie is a masterpiece. Roman Polanski did phenomenal job directing, and even was good at acting. The director managed to get all of the actors to be on the same page. You could see that Polanski did put some work into directing. But on times scenes seem to be purely driven, by Nicholsons acting, and star power. All in all, still a solid directing job. I would rate it 16/20.

Cinematography - Even considering, that the film is quite old, and cinematographers didn't have all the modern equipment, job was done to perfection. John A. Alonzo managed to achieve marvelous work. Even though the film was filmed in sunny California, you can still fill the film noir atmosphere. There were few really impressive shots which you don't come across very often nowadays. Including mirror shots, that give viewer the illusion of following someone, and the other worthy mention is shot of chase in the lemon fields. The last really adds to intensity and made me wanting for the shot to be longer. A worthy Oscar nominee. I would rate it 20/20.

Writing - An amazing story, with even more amazing characters. Story develops it self beautifully, and it seems like Gittes is always in front of the action. The story doesn't force itself on the viewer. Script paces itself perfectly although at the very end it felt a bit rushed and jumped straight to the very conclusion. I would rate it 20/20.

Score - The score was amazing. Some of the tracks hit the perfect spots and gave me the goosebumps. Textbook film noir soundtrack, that really adds up to the whole movie vibe. I would rate it 20/20.

Acting - Was phenomenal Jack Nicholson was a true powerhouse in this movie and fit the role perfectly. His acting seem effortless and charismatic. All of the actors had this mystery shroud around them. And seemed they were hiding their true intentions. Actors chemistry was very mesmerizing to watch, because it seemed like every actor was pushing not only his own performance, but the colleagues as well. Even though through out the movie extras don't get a lot of screen time, you can definetly feel their presence in the movie. I would rate it 20/20.

All in all, this movie is a truly masterpiece, a modern jewel of film noir. Worthy of being in the study program for any film school. Finally I would rate this movie 96/100. 1712. Alameda.