Chinatown is one of those movies that I was very happy to know absolutely nothing about while going in. Because half of the fun of this movie is discovering all the weird little Corks And strange events and how the whole thing escalates into this ridiculous farce.
This is what they class as a neo-noir film. I'd argue it's a pretty decent one at that. It captures the spirit of the rough-and-tumble attitude of the detectives, police any people being investigated around them while maintaining the clothing and cars that were so foundational for the time.
Basics of the story is that Jack Nicholson runs detective agency that focuses on marital problems. Usually men cheating on their wives and other such low angled stuff.
This woman comes in asking that Jack Nicholson investigate her husband because she assumes he's having an affair.
Nicholson except the investigation and collects the intended evidence; Only to discover later that the woman who hired him was a fake and that the whole thing was done on purpose to give bad publicity to the guy who was involved in the affair.
This leads Nicholson on to a deeper investigation when he tries to figure out why somebody wanted to sabotage this guy to begin with. Especially given his stature within the Los Angeles water department.
It's from this investigation that Nicholson discovers a plot to steal vast amounts of water from Los Angeles (during a drought) and send it up to Farmland which is systematically being vandalised by Crooks were trying to push local farmers out of the area. So that the people diverting the water can buy the land on cheap, flood it with resource and then sell it back for a massive profit. All under the guise of an extremely rich water Tycoon who's using the names of supposedly deceased people living in a retiring home as a kind of shadow group to hide the finances.
But that's not even the weirdest part of the investigation. Jack Nicholson is systematically connecting himself with several people to get as much information as possible.
In doing so he set up multiple contracts, but while on his investigation about the water conspiracy, he discovers that several of his clients are involved with each other in formally extremely uncomfortable sexual situations and a cover-up murder involving the man having the affair at the beginning.
All culminating for an extreme set up at the end.
It's a good example of a Hollywood movie done right. It's got the glamour, acting, talent and overall production value that makes for an enjoyable movie. Mixed with a fairly decent script and well-choreographed dramatic scenes.
However I found that the films relied on sound cues and dramatic music a little to much. There are several scenes I think could have been improved if you would just let the experience speak for itself. But it's a minor gripe and something that most people wouldn't have any problems with.
It's nice watching a Jack Nicholson movie that came out before ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''. Because he was still something of a basic actor at this time and he didn't have his trait yet.
It's also kind of comedic hearing Jack Nicholson use the phrase 'she flew the coop'.
On a slightly different note this film feels like a spiritual successor to the Rockstar made video game ''LA Noire''. They both capture that similar feeling of trying to recreate the past through a strange Noir detective story.
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