Arena Theater Film Club: Chinatown (USA, 1974)

Director: Roman Polanski
Rated: R
Runtime: 130 minutes
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry López, Diane Ladd, John Hillerman

“You may think you know what you’re dealing with, but believe me, you don’t,” warns water baron Noah Cross (John Huston), when smooth cop-turned-private eye J.J. “Jake” Gittes (Jack Nicholson) starts nosing around Cross’s water diversion scheme. That proves to be the ominous lesson of Chinatown, Polanski’s critically lauded 1974 revision of 1940s film noir detective movies.

When private eye J.J. Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband’s activities, he believes it’s a routine infidelity case. Jake’s investigation soon becomes anything but routine when he meets the real Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) and realizes he was hired by an imposter. Mr. Mulwray’s sudden death sets Gittes on a tangled trail of corruption, deceit and sinister family secrets as Evelyn’s father (John Huston) becomes a suspect in the case.

Polanski and Towne clashed over Chinatown’s ending; Polanski won the fight, but Towne won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Chinatown was nominated for ten other Oscars, including Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score.