Review of The Two Jakes (1990) by Sarah N — 03 Aug 2008

Knowing this Chinatown sequelâ??s detested reputation, I was too interested in seeing a movie directed by Jack Nicholson to turn away. I was surprised to find that it is very underappreciated. Nicholson is quite an inventive, if a little show-offy, director. His confident helming of the very late sequel to a highly revered contemporary classic is full of interesting shots and his performance realistically portrays an older, wiser Jake Gittes who has been seasoned with philosophies on the pain and importance of the past.

It is not simply on account of Nicholson. Robert Towneâ??s own continuation of his predecessor is quite creative. Harvey Keitel plays the second Jake, who has hired the initial Jake to catch his wife cheating on him red-handed. In the course of the sting, Keitel up and shoots the adulterous lover, who turns out to be his real estate partner. Nicholson is now under intense scrutiny for his unwitting part in the crime and has to figure out if it was justifiable homicide or straight murder. The case proceeds to elude to California's booming oil industry as well as his own past after he stumbles upon a wire recording during the investigation that mentions the daughter of Faye Dunaway's ill-fated character in the last film.

The Two Jakes, to me, can stand on its own with Chinatown. Polanski directed the first film much much differently than Nicholson addresses this follow-up. I donâ??t believe in the case of Chinatown a sequel needs to be a comparable continuation. Making a second installment sixteen years later allows a lot of license for it to be its own beast. Some such sequels done that way are disasters. The Two Jakes stays afloat. And Madeleine Stowe remains the most insatiably attractive woman of any superlative comment that Iâ??ve made within the past month, at least. And Iâ??ve made a lot.

The filmâ??s theatrical trailer is actually incredible. Itâ??s narrated by Gittes, telling us how the war was good for Los Angeles in so many different ways that contribute to his business, as extremely dry bits of humor throughout the film punctuate it here and there and provocative, often voyeuristic shots from the movie are included.