Chinatown (1999, DVD)

Roman Polanski had a hit with his 1974 film noir Chinatown. Reminiscent of the original '40s noirs like Maltese Falcon or The Big Sleep, Chinatown featured a hardboiled detective sifting through clues trying to put together a puzzle where nobody was exactly who he seemed to be and everyone was more than a little bit guilty.

In terms of technical execution it is a masterpiece, however there are some weaknesses that kept me from enjoying it enough to give it an unequivocal five star - two thumbs up rating.

The Good:

A fairly involving story and characters from the pen of Robert Towne sets the stage for the growth of Southern California via the filching of resources.

Director Roman Polanski comes up with some good angles and camera set ups and plays a good cameo role as a small potatoes gangster with a shiv. John A. Alonzo put some flawless shots on celluloid in accordance with Polanski's vision. Set design and costuming were superior in line with Hollywood's finest traditions. The look of the film is very classy and evokes the 40s with its retro style. Jerry Goldsmith's score superbly mimics the feel of the '40s.

Jack Nicholson plays a fairly good impression of a small fry detective specializing in divorces. This role was before Jack became a star and became famous for playing himself. John Huston, a noted director, plays a ruthless, despicable old man and does a fine job of making the viewer hate and loathe him.

Polanski fought for and was able to keep his unsatisfying ending which was also a plus as film noir is about the destruction of the characters, not their redemption.

The Bad:

The story goes off track The subplot concerning Faye Dunaway's past has no real connection with the story and apparently was thrown in for shock value alone. While it is often fascinating to contemplate the aberrant (or other) sexual activities of others, just what did it have to do with the main mystery of the theft that was going on under everybody's noses?

The forced references to Chinatown, which had almost nothing to do with the story, was apparently a vain attempt to be noirish. Sorry, Roman, didn't work.

Nicholson was not THAT good. He was OK, but a milquetoast private dick in comparison to his forebears established by Humphrey Bogart and others of his ilk.

The Ugly:

Faye Dunaway was miscast as the femme fatale Evelyn Mulwray. She played but a pale shadow in comparison to the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Mary Astor, or Barbara Stanwyck. Sexually tepid and not all that attractive to these middle aged eyes, when her big secret finally came out I could only think, "Oh, another wacky female." Very disappointing performance out of Ms. Dunaway (and whoever wrote that tripe, probably Polanski).

The final Analysis:

A good, not great, film that upholds the tradition of film noir yet misfires through poor casting and freakish directorial choices by Roman Polanski (whose wife,admittedly, had been brutally murdered a few years before which may account for some of the absurdity). The DVD release has gorgeous well-preserved 2.35: 1 widescreen video and a featurette with Roman Polanski (director) and Robert Towne (writer) as an extra.

Chinatown is well worth seeing and owning but if noir is your cup of tea, also try Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, Charlton Heston in Touch of Evil, or Russell Crowe in LA Confidential.

Happy viewing!