Chinatown

For the whole of this movie, I had no idea what was going on. And I loved that. I love movies that keep you guessing.
For those who don't know, Chinatown is the film noir classic of 1974, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Nicholson stars as the private investigator J.J. Gittes who is hired to investigate the water department head Mr. Mulwray. His wife believes that Mr. Mulwray is seeing another woman and wants to find out who it is. Before long, Gittes realizes he's been set up by a woman pretending to be Mrs. Mulwray. The plot thickens when Mr. Mulwray seemingly accidentally dies. Gittes, believing Mulwray was murdered, is now hired by the real wife to find out who murdered him. Many more plot twists ensue.


I can see why this film is a classic. It has an intriguing storyline, great acting, and a great screenplay. I read a book on screenplay writing that highly recommended this movie on the basis of its screenplay. And the author was right. For a screenplay to be good, it has to get the audience within ten minutes because the average audience member will know whether he likes a movie within ten minutes.
So anyway, 3.9 out of 5 stars.

Classic movies reviewed: 2/50