Chinatown (1974)

Too much of everything

That was an excellent one.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A very well-done film noir. This murder mystery was intriguing and was always a few steps ahead of me. I didn't see the ending coming. This film will probably get better with each subsequent viewing.

A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder. As much as i love and respect Jack Nicholson this movie just didn't do it for me i mean it really did not do it especially the fact that the man has to spend half of the movie with a bandage on his freaking nose and it just didn't work for me i'm really sorry but on the positive side the acting was good and the direction as well but the pacing dragged alot and the storyline was also not that much of an interest to me and definitely not that good. (5/10)

Just like the plot within, this film is deceptive. You go into it thinking that you'll get just another crime drama, and from the beginning it feels like one. Then you see Hollis Mulwray dead in the reservoir, and all of a sudden it feels like you've gotten a body shot from boxing legend Joe Frazier. The rest of the film is more of a boxing match between you and the film. You think you've got it figured out, you think you're starting to get some shots on it, but then it gives you another body shot that throws all your conceptions out the window.And the film never lets up, it just keeps going and going and going. The conspiracy and plot gets thicker and deeper, thicker and deeper. Is it Cross? Is is the real Mrs. Mulwray? The only form of relief, of closure you get from the film is from a scene where Mrs. Mulwray describes a girl who she's keeping away from everyone else as both her "daughter and sister" - I'll let you do the math yourself on that one. I personally don't want to think about it.Not even the end provides closure. Just as you've started to hope for Mrs. Mulwray and start to relax knowing she's gotten away from a seemingly mentally deranged Mr. Cross, a pistol report rings out and the horn of her car starts to sound."Forget about it, it's Chinatown" Jake Gittes is told by his partner as they walk away into the darkness of the night. After seeing the debauchery, the conspiracy, and the crime present in the film, it's almost like he's inviting the audience to "forget about it" as well.

So this film is not recommended? Not so fast! When noir is mixed with other genres, it is the noir that music be in the forefront, for my entertainment value. If not we have a murder mystery detective film with a dash of old school homage. The story here is both predictable as it is suspenseful and without the big screen presence of jack Nicholson may have not been anything more of a Roman Polanski diversion. The Los Angeles story is a great one to build around, but the "you don't know who you're messing around with" angle has been further exonerated from ingratiating gangster or back story horror plots decades ago and was left with a lack of follow through here. John Huston' villain carried as much weight as Marlon Brandro did in his later years. Big name, hot hair. Faye Dunaway is lost in this role after owning her strong role in Bonnie and Clyde and Network. Possibly my expectations outlived the replay.