The film “Chinatown” is a “film noir” because its subject matter revolves about fatality and futility of will, and this theme is supported by very effective visual techniques. No matter how hard the charactres try, they are powerless to overcome the obstacltes and unwritten rules. The main character, Jake Gittes, tries to protect his reputation, to do the right thing, and to protect an innocent and decent woman for whom we can assume he has affection, and he fails. The Chief Engineer of “Water and Power” tries to investigate and prevent a fraud and he is killed. Evelyn Mulwray tries to protect her daughter from the malicious father who forced Evelyn for incest. Evelyn dies and the daughter falls into the hands of the father and we can only guess what will happen to her, but the tone of the film leaves us very little optimism.
In my opinion, the film “Chinatown” is very well done visually to support the “noir” outlook. Roman Polanski used the colour contrasts very skillfully: the sunny streets of Los Angeles are contrasted with dim lit indoors (Chief Engineer’s office, the Hall of Records, the Cafe where Jake and Evelyn meet, the house where Katherine is almost imprisoned). Even the plot supports the shadows premise; Jake is a private investigator and he is lurking in the figurative shadows of the dark environment of human nature. Characters are very exquisite in their dressing styles, especially the main ones: Jake Gittes and Evelyn, as if for manifestation of their sef-consciousness and fragility. I found that the decision to cut Jack’s nostril almost at the beginning of the film and let him go through the film with a bandage on his nose was particularly effective. I think it is a great metaphor, “nosy fellows lose their noses”. The nose is the central part on the face and it is very obtrusive; we are constantly reminded of Jake’s predicament, as well as his determination to pursue his goal. In addition, it instills the sense of danger for the whole film.
The motive of entrapment is present in most of the scenes. We can see it in the beginning of the film when Jake started his investigation; he sat in the car and tried to be unnoticed by Hollis Mulwray. The investigation process suggests that we trying to see something and it is never clear, there is always something blocking the view: car interior, trees, other people etc. I found the scene when Jake first came to Mulwray’s mansion and stood in front of the closed door so closely that he could probably touch it by his nose, particularly effective, as if the character was imprisoned and blocked by something insurmountable. The motifs of Orange Orchids valleys, the aisles of the Hall of Records, the Water Works canals also support the theme of entrapment; their repetition throughout the film only enforces the impression.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the film “Chinatown” belongs to the “film noir” genre by both its subject matter and visual techniques. It was done so skillfully and thoughtfully that I simply believe that it is a masterpiece in both “film noir” genre and the whole history of cinema.
August 31st, 2008 | Tags: Chinatown, entrapment, film, film noir, Jack Nicholson | Category: Films | 
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(4 out of 5)