tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post170432532663537287..comments2024-03-27T15:16:57.305-05:00Comments on F This Movie!: Drunk on Foolish Pleasures: ChinatownPatrick Bromleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00771837625286775607noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-61259693086781263312014-06-18T21:12:28.095-05:002014-06-18T21:12:28.095-05:00While I wholeheartedly agree about the Hayes Code&...While I wholeheartedly agree about the Hayes Code's ubiquity during that time period, the majority of the noirs that I have been watching lately (The Killing, Plunder Road, etc) have endings in which everyone is punished. While I do agree Chinatown's concluding tragedy could have been avoided in the manner you indicate, I'm just noticing that's the case in most noirs, that something could have been done or done differently, but things never work out and that compounds the tragedy...JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076030814908114779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-72163675169233137872014-06-18T19:51:49.902-05:002014-06-18T19:51:49.902-05:00I would argue that most noir movies still give us ...I would argue that most noir movies still give us a "victory" of sorts, where the bad guy is either killed or arrested at the end. Indeed, the Hayes Code insisted that crime cannot pay, and wrongdoers must be punished in some fashion. Thus, even if there is tragedy along the way (such as in The Big Heat), the audience still feels some satisfaction that a measure of justice has been done, albeit imperfectly. Polanski boldly gave us an ending where there is NO justice whatsoever. However, I disagree with those who would argue this is simply Polanski being nihilistic. Jake has an opportunity in this movie to achieve a small victory - he can potentially deliver Evelyn and her daughter to safety. But he makes the critical error of confronting Noah Cross, in the vain belief that he (and he alone) can somehow "defeat" him. Of course he cannot, and Cross then makes Jake take him right to Evelyn. The tragedy that ensues was not "fated," it was the result of hubris.Steve K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02141959251034133806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-11552874097170892082014-06-18T19:05:36.080-05:002014-06-18T19:05:36.080-05:00Yes that is a great point. In a way Noir is that c...Yes that is a great point. In a way Noir is that critique in itself, there will always be corruption it states. Our leading man can't change that. I love the way J.B. stated it at the end of this review that Noir helps us wrestle with the darker side of our conciousness. This film is so fantastic, another film I want to re-watch (again) after reading this column! Gabby Ferrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13953028733362435557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-82140829063901464862014-06-18T13:47:35.582-05:002014-06-18T13:47:35.582-05:00Thank you JB for perfectly summarizing why I love ...Thank you JB for perfectly summarizing why I love Chinatown so much! I'm not that much of a Polanski fan but I have an enormous amount of appreciation for this film, it is in my top 5 movies of all time. After watching Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde when I was teen, I didn't care for her acting. After seeing her in Chinatown and Network for the first time this year, she has that 70's style of acting that I am drawn to again and again. Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02118686188117039232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-20767653941265123702014-06-18T02:31:51.417-05:002014-06-18T02:31:51.417-05:00Terrific review. I haven't seen "Chinatow...Terrific review. I haven't seen "Chinatown" often enough (two or three times, the last well over a decade ago) so it would be like seeing it again for the first time. Somehow even though its not noir I always think of "The Sting" and "Chinatown" as being of a piece, mostly because they're both daylight-set movies recreating a B&W era even though it seems the plots would benefit from nighttime photography. Rewatching both might be in order.J.M. Vargashttps://plus.google.com/u/0/114656828393049850554/postsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217427319662074458.post-44124480893153227982014-06-17T11:55:08.138-05:002014-06-17T11:55:08.138-05:00Great review! Much as I hate to admit it, but the...Great review! Much as I hate to admit it, but there's no doubt in my mind that Polanski deserves a lot of the credit for how Chinatown turned out. I had a big problem with that for awhile, until I realized I also loved the music of Wagner - and NOBODY is a bigger bastard than that son-of-a-bitch. If I'm remembering my readings about Chinatown correctly, it was Polanski who changed the ending to what it is today, and which I would argue is essential to the film's ultimate message. I won't spoil it by getting into things deeply here, but the Nicholson character in this film has a lot in common with the Nicholson character in The Pledge. Both have a moment where they can make the right, correct choice - and they both blow it because they desire the big dramatic confrontation. Chinatown is a critique of the whole private-eye genre, which wants to believe that the lone hero can stand up to corruption and fix everything.Steve K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02141959251034133806noreply@blogger.com