Review: Chinatown (1974)

I've only watched a one film of Roman Polanski and that is 'Carnage' (2011) and while I loved that movie I somehow felt that something was missing but talking about 'Carnage' should be in another article, now let's go back to one of his early works which is 'Chinatown', was it good or was it bad?? Read on below.

Synopsis:

A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.

Story:

As you've read from the very short synopsis above you can already get a glimpse of what the movie is all about because most of the synopsis that I found was very long and detailed it just gave the movie away and I don't want my readers(is there anyone out there?) to get spoiled. This is the type of movie that you need to watch to really get the story and understand it. The story in this movie is pretty fleshed out and carefully injects each idea and plot points so that the audience can get a full grasp on what is happening in the movie.

Performance:

Jack Nicholson is one of my favorite actors ever and his performance in here is also certainly one of my favorites, he was just captivating and displays a pure bad-ass aura on screen while also being a somewhat safe-player of a character(if that makes any sense), he also plays a very convincing PI with intelligence and wit as he displays it as if he's in the game for a long time. Moving on to the other lead, Faye Dunaway was a delight to look at and what I liked about her is that she did not get overshadowed by Nicholson it's as if they are trading blows in terms of acting. As for the others, I will not elaborate it more but they did a pretty good job, there was no bad performances in this movie.

Action/Violence:

Not much action but there is indeed violence. I really don't want to spoil anything here so all I can say is there is blood, the fights look realistic mostly because of the convincing acting. That's all what I need to say in terms of the violence here.

Music:

I LOVED the score in this movie, it perfectly fits with its noir genre. It was haunting, the music can make you think, it really helps the scenes to be much more effective and much more edgy which is wonderful because it adds grit and realism to the movie.

Cinematography:

Another aspect in this movie that I loved, every shot was perfect ad it doesn't feel forced, it gives you a glimpse of what a certain scenario might look like in real life and also it captures the beauty and feel of LA in the late 30s.

Direction:

All I can say to Roman Polanski is *clap* *clap* *clap*. Oh, and I also loved his role here.

Overall:

This is certainly the best noir-thriller I have ever seen, every aspect in this movie perfectly compliments each other, from the story to the production. I can't wait to see some more Roman Polanski film. This film is surely  belongs to my Top 10 films. I rate this movie a 5/5.