Chinatown - 7 stars out of 10

Chinatown - 7 stars out of 10

"Chinatown" is the quintessential example of film noir... and it does so without any voiceovers!  It moves a bit too slow for my taste, but then again, all films from this genre do.  The important thing is that the story is fantastic and unpredictable.  Robert Towne always receives credit for writing the script that tells this deeply layered story, but it is Roman Polanski's editing of the script (and deletion of voiceovers by the main character) that place us in the position of Jake Gittes throughout the movie.  We experience the events as they unfold for him as Jack Nicholson is in every scene of the movie and we only discover the clues when he does.  We even blackout when he blacks out and miss all of the events during his unconsciousness.  The young Nicholson's performance and Oscar nomination guarenteed his spot on the "Who's Who Among Hollywood Stars" list as he combines attitude, coolness, sexuality, and intellect into one perfect noir character.  Not to mention that his character's nose is graphically sliced open on screen by a gangster (played by director Polanski in a cameo) - awesome.  The highlight of this movie comes through the revelation of Faye Dunaway's secret, revealed through an impressive emotional breakdown by the female lead.  During that scene, it is no surprise that Dunaway received an Oscar nod.  The other wonderful performance comes from John Huston, better known for directing films such as "The Maltese Falcon" and "The African Queen," but bringing a sinister charm to this film's villain.  Add in the interesting parallels to the historic California Water Wars and unending layers of emotion and scandal, and you have set a new standard for every film to follow.