4 out of 5

Director: Roman Polanski

This is a classic for many reasons. A peek at the many deserved Academy Award wins and nominations (screenplay, picture, music, actor, director, etc.) can give you an idea of the quality (if you believe in that kind of stuff), and also, maybe, make you wistful that they just dont make em like this anymore. But its not their fault. You cant make em like this anymore. Chinatown is required noir. Its not as down and dirty as some noir, thanks in part to the way its shot and scored, but every character is tainted slightly and while there are heroes and villains, everyone makes mistakes and no one gets away truly clean. But the main noir theme is there: something starts out simple and then gets more complicated. Jack Nicholson is a private detective who makes a name for himself exposing cheating husbands/wives. Hes hired do so and does so, but accidentally finds himself in the middle of a money-making conspiracy that seems more threatening and powerful than many similar movie tropes because of how low-key it is. That always stuck out in this film. Anyway, you probably know most of this already. Polanski proves himself as awesome, though, due to the way he steps back and plays this – the camera is very subjective, never playing to the scenes except to document them and letting us see only what the main character hears and sees, allowing us to draw our own opinions along the way. The colors and music are all very LA, which keeps it from ever seeming too bleak, but also washes it with that plastic Hollywood-ness. This movie is a lesson in full-blown storytelling. Its not five stars only because the subjectiveness, while essential, keeps it from being truly thrilling. It is instead – unregrettably – just marvelous to watch.