Chinatown (Review)

Watching Chinatown in 2021 is a surreal experience, mainly due to the Seinfeld is Unfunny effect (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny). To summarize, the idea is that a property that was once considered original and fresh will often kickstart a conga-line of imitators what will eventually lead to the original work being considered cliché, even though that wasn’t true when it was actually made! Of course, Chinatown is hardly the originator of the many noir concepts held within it, but as a huge fan of Who Framed Rodger Rabbit (1988) the parallels were pretty clear.

So, with that out of the way…

Chinatown (1964) is a neo-noir mystery film written by Robert Towne and directed by Roman Polanski, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. In it, hard-boiled detective J.J. “Jake” Gittes (Nicholson) is hired to expose a husbands infidelity, which takes him down a rabbit hole of corruption and depravity leading to the very heart of Los Angeles politics.

There’s not much I can say about Chinatown that hasn’t already been said. A good film is a good film is a good film. But it is interesting for me to hear that a prequel series is in the works at Netflix, with Towne reprising his role as screenwriter. I don’t know whether or not it will be any good, but Towne’s work is considered seminal by most film critics, and it is exciting to hear that he has more of the story to tell.

Roman Polanski's directorial work was also highly appraised for good reason, but evaluating his role is difficult in light of the disturbing allegations against him. Sadly, in many ways his escape from justice mirrors the plot of the very film that he directed just 3 years prior. In a world where we are just beginning to hold the powerful accountable, Chinatown is a reminder of what happens when that accountability never comes.