Chinatown

This semester, I’m glad to take an introductory film class with professor Cohen. One of the most awesome parts of this course is that every Tuesday night, we have a film screening section during which the whole class watch a selected film together, and the film would be discussed in class on the following day. Last week, our first showing was Chinatown, a 1974 film directed by Roman Polanski based on the screenplay by Robert Towne.

The large context of the story of Chinatown was drawn from the true historical event, California Water Wars. However, Polanski and Towne smartly chose a small angle by telling the story from the point of view of a private detective, Gittes (Jack Nicholson). In the process of investigating into an extramarital affair, Gittes gets involved into a mysterious murder and he consequentially finds out a huge conspiracy behind the drought of the city.

The cinematography is great. My favorite scene is the one in which Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) looks out of the window while waiting for Gittes, leaving her back to the audience. As the widow of the murder victim, she is wearing an appropriate black dress, impatiently folding her arms and holding a cigarette in her right hand. Her elegant silhouette stands out from the horizontal lines of the blinds. This scene is so breathtaking and the silhouette immediately reminds me of the Montmartre star, Jane Avril, depicted by Toulouse Lautrec in his poster Divan Japonais.

The acting is also noteworthy. Mrs. Mulwray would light a cigarette every time she feels nervous or disturbed. This detail is not quite noticeable, but it helps articulate the personality and inner state of the character and makes the character much more credible. An interesting counterpart could be found in a driving scene in the latter half of the film, where Gittes fails to light a cigarette four times as he was talking to Mrs. Mulwray. This detail, similarly, accurately portrays the anxiety of the character.

Overall, this film is marvelous. I’m impressed by the fantastic technique and impeccable performance, and some meaningful lines and scenes really gave me pause. I would like to watch it again in the near future.