Post by klep on Nov 23, 2015 7:39:01 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Chinatown
Jake Gittes is not a bad man. He's also not a good man. Jake Gittes is just a man in over his head trying to get by, and occasionally falling under the sway of the wrong woman. He finds deception and conspiracy around every corner, and is frustrated in his attempts to just figure out what the hell is going on. In other words, he's the quintessential noir detective, and he helps make Chinatown one of the great noir films.
But unlike the early noirs with their dark alleys and black nights, Chinatown takes place mostly during the day, under the punishing Los Angeles sun. Jake has stumbled onto a real conspiracy, and like most such conspiracies, it has to do with land and water. The drought can be felt in every frame - even if none of it seems to collect on Jake's impeccable wardrobe. The people are thirsty for water, the conspirators are thirsty for money, and Jake is thirsty for information. Jake isn't really invested in it at first. He's been played and he doesn't like that. He has a professional reputation to maintain, and he has a bit of an ego. He doesn't really care about stopping the conspiracy, because he used to work in Chinatown; he knows how little chance there is of the law stepping in. But then The Woman enters the scene, played by the beautiful Faye Dunaway.
The fatal failing of every great noir detective is The Woman. She is everything he wants and nothing he should get involved with. She has her Past and her Troubles and they invariably become his Troubles. He can't espace her Past, and it costs him dearly. In Chinatown Evelyn Mulwray causes Gittes to become invested in what had been a primarily intellectual exercise for him. Now he cares, and caring means he can get hurt.
Chinatown was initially thought of as a neo-noir, but that seems to be more a function of when it was made than what it actually is. It may take place under the burning sun, but the shadows it casts are just as stark - whether literal or metaphorical. There is no essential beat from the noir playbook that it skips. There was controversy over its ending, with many saying it was too bleak. But that misunderstands the genre. In noir, nobody walks away happy - at least, none of the right people - and this is a perfect noir.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 11/30: Jackie Brown
Next week we'll be talking about the film that is widely acclaimed as Tarantino's best. And later this week we'll have an opportunity to talk about the Next Picture Show podcast's choice, Battle Royale.
Jake Gittes is not a bad man. He's also not a good man. Jake Gittes is just a man in over his head trying to get by, and occasionally falling under the sway of the wrong woman. He finds deception and conspiracy around every corner, and is frustrated in his attempts to just figure out what the hell is going on. In other words, he's the quintessential noir detective, and he helps make Chinatown one of the great noir films.
But unlike the early noirs with their dark alleys and black nights, Chinatown takes place mostly during the day, under the punishing Los Angeles sun. Jake has stumbled onto a real conspiracy, and like most such conspiracies, it has to do with land and water. The drought can be felt in every frame - even if none of it seems to collect on Jake's impeccable wardrobe. The people are thirsty for water, the conspirators are thirsty for money, and Jake is thirsty for information. Jake isn't really invested in it at first. He's been played and he doesn't like that. He has a professional reputation to maintain, and he has a bit of an ego. He doesn't really care about stopping the conspiracy, because he used to work in Chinatown; he knows how little chance there is of the law stepping in. But then The Woman enters the scene, played by the beautiful Faye Dunaway.
The fatal failing of every great noir detective is The Woman. She is everything he wants and nothing he should get involved with. She has her Past and her Troubles and they invariably become his Troubles. He can't espace her Past, and it costs him dearly. In Chinatown Evelyn Mulwray causes Gittes to become invested in what had been a primarily intellectual exercise for him. Now he cares, and caring means he can get hurt.
Chinatown was initially thought of as a neo-noir, but that seems to be more a function of when it was made than what it actually is. It may take place under the burning sun, but the shadows it casts are just as stark - whether literal or metaphorical. There is no essential beat from the noir playbook that it skips. There was controversy over its ending, with many saying it was too bleak. But that misunderstands the genre. In noir, nobody walks away happy - at least, none of the right people - and this is a perfect noir.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 11/30: Jackie Brown
Next week we'll be talking about the film that is widely acclaimed as Tarantino's best. And later this week we'll have an opportunity to talk about the Next Picture Show podcast's choice, Battle Royale.