I’m not really sure how I escaped my film school education without watchingChinatown, but it’s one that’s been on my ever-growing, never-ending watchlist for quite some time. The only things I knew about this movie were that it was directed by the controversialRoman Polanski, it starredJack Nicholsonas private eye Jake Gittes, and, at least I assumed, it was largely set in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles. Little did I know thatChinatownhardly takes place in Chinatown at all. Even more of a shock is that there’s far more going on here than a simple neo-noir case of infidelity and murder. In fact, the film itself goes to great lengths to reinforce the fact that it’s different from its neo-noir predecessors, and the results are, well, debatable.
What is ‘Chinatown’ About?
Chinatown—which was originally meant to be a trilogy— begins with private eye J.J. “Jake” Gittes being hired by a Mrs. Mulwray to investigate her husband, Water & Power Chief Engineer Hollis I. Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). This throws the private detective smack in the middle of a lawsuit when it’s revealed that the original “Mrs. Mulwray” wasn’t the real deal at all. The real Mrs. Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) explains that the impostor (played byDiane Ladd)used the detective to discredit Hollis, who is refusing to build a new water dam due to safety concerns, despite Los Angeles' current drought. Things get even dicier when Hollis’s body is soon found and Gittes begins working for Evelyn Mulwray to uncover the culprit, all while being considered something of a suspect himself.
From the get-go,there’s a greater conspiracy herethan meets the initial (private) eye. For starters, Hollis Mulwray cares deeply about the safety of L.A.’s citizens after a previous mistake had cost the lives of 500 individuals. By all accounts, he’s a stand-up guy who spends many nights investigating discrepancies with the water supply. So, despite Gittes apparently “catching him in the act” with a blonde, Hollis still has a stand-up reputation, and his own wife doesn’t believe what’s being said about him in public. But the deeper Gittes digs, the more danger he finds himself in. Upon discovering that the Water Department has been drying up farmers' land to buy out their properties, he is beaten up on more than one occasion.By the time Evelyn Mulwray gets more heavily involved, Gittes grows attached to her, and that’s when things really get tricky.
‘Chinatown’ Subverts Where No Subversion Is Necessary
“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.“We all know the line. These are the final words spoken inChinatownthat haunt the viewer as the credits begin to roll, replacing any hopes we had for Evelyn’s future with her sister/daughter Katherine (Belinda Palmer) with a hole the size of the one lodged through her face. The horrible truth surrounding the entire mystery — Hollis' murder, the battle for L.A.’s water supply, etc. — is that when Evelyn was 15, her father, Noah Cross (John Huston), raped her. Katherine is the product of that horrific event. Hollis had seemingly confronted Cross about Katherine, which led to his father-in-law murdering him. In the wake of it all, Evelyn planned to take Katherine as far away as humanly possible.That is, until the police shoot her through the skull as she drives away, only to let Cross flee with his screaming daughter/granddaughter, who now has no one else in the world.
Forgetting the ending ofChinatownisn’t an option. It feels random, purposeless, and makes the skin crawl; it’s ahard-boiled cynical extravaganzathat concludes worse than it began. ConsideringPolanski’s history of sexual assault, it’s hard not to feel a certain way about the way this movie wraps up, especially when there’s truly no need for it. Whether Gittes really loved Evelyn is up for debate, but we do know he once loved a woman in Chinatown, a woman who likewise died because he got too involved. This ending makes us wonder if Jake Gittes, who is portrayed as a confident and intelligent private detective, has learned anything from his previous experience. ConsideringNicholson’s 1990 reprisal of the character inThe Two Jakes, the implication seems to be that he doesn’t. Not only does this ending leave poor Katherine with no hope or future, but it breaks the illusion that Gittes is both a capable and morally responsible private eye.
No doubt, one can praiseChinatownfor the way it masterfully misleads and deceives us. Likethe classic noirs of the Old Hollywood era, it thrives on melodrama and subverts the genre expectations we initially placed on it. In many respects, it’s very impressive. However,the chaotic ending tries to subvert those exact expectations even further for the sake of shock and awe rather than true narrative impact. Frankly, it’s too much.Chinatowngoes to great lengths to reinforce the fact that it’s different from its neo-noir predecessors, but in so doing alienates not just Jake Gittes, but its audience also. While many considerChinatownto feature one of the greatest endings in cinema, given the larger context of Polanski’s life and career, it comes across more as an uncomfortable look behind the curtain.
‘Chinatown’s Ending Was Controversial From the Beginning
I mentioned before that director Roman Polanski is a controversial figure, and thatisn’t lost on a film likeChinatown. Though his direction is no doubt impressive,he and screenwriter Robert Towne famously argued about the ending. ThoughTowne came around in the end, believing the director was ultimately right, at the time he thought Polanski’s vision wastoo bleak, as he once expressed toYahoo! Movies. I tend to agree with Towne’s initial assessment. These final moments, which actually do take place in Chinatown, are too abrupt, too erratic, and too unfocused to feel like a proper or thoughtful conclusion. It all happens far too quickly for us to even understand the effects.
One could argue that the Manson murders had a hand in the wayChinatownplayed out, and there is certainly a thoroughline between Cross’ rape of the land and the rape of his daughter, but, frankly, Evelyn’s murder feels too “dead-end.“That latter point could still hit home without her death and the implication that the cycle will simply continue with Katherine. Sure, Cross may win the water wars, but he doesn’t have to succeed at these evils also. After all Gittes has gone through (and admitted to having gone through in the past), it makes it seem as if he’s ultimately learned nothing from the whole ordeal, leaving us with some terrible thoughts to consider.
Undoubtedly, the reasonChinatownremains such a distinct classic after 50 years is due toJack Nicholson’s impeccable performance. This is the sort of role that Nicholson could really chew on in his prime, and he commands every scene as brilliantly here as if he were performing on the stage. The way he balances Jake’s inquisitive mind and sleuthing prowess with his sensitive side is a testament to the New Hollywood style that had overtaken the industry at the time, as well as the actor’s own theatrical abilities. Gittes is the type of protagonist that is easy to root for, because while his business is to get up in other people’s business, he does so honorably and thoroughly. Famed film criticRoger Ebertonce notedthatit was Nicholson who single-handedly keptChinatownfrom “becoming just a genre crime picture,“and that’s certainly true. But despite the creativity of the script and the solid performances by its leading stars, the ending doesn’t land the way I think Polanski wants it to, and that’s the real tragedy ofChinatown.
Chinatownis available for streaming on Paramount+.
