Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and based on a screenplay from Robert Towne, is one of the defining neo-noir movies of all time. Set in the Los Angeles of 1937, the movie features Jack Nicholson as a private eye trying to unravel a series of unfolding revelations after taking on the investigation of an unfaithful husband.

Polanski incorporates numerous facets of classic film noir movies in his plot and cinematography. There is the gumshoe investigator, numerous plot twists, scenes filmed in darkness, and perhaps a femme fatale.

Chinatown’s protagonist, Jake Gittes (Nicholson), has all the characteristics of a film noir detective. He is a man with ambivalent morals but is unafraid to get into scuffles or face a powerful adversary. The movie packs more adult language, violence, sex scenes, and other elements, probably none of which would have passed the morality standard of the restrictive Hays censorship code that pervaded the ‘classic’ noir era.

Robert Towne’s Academy Award-winning screenplay is considered by many critics to be the best screenplay ever written. The plot unfolds from the perspective of the PI, Jake Gittes, much in the tradition of pulp fiction author Raymond Chandler’s stories.

The plot begins with a woman, Evelyn Mulwray (Diane Ladd), visiting Jake’s office and hiring him to investigate her husband, whom she suspects is having an affair. Her husband, Hollis (Darrell Zwerling), works as a chief engineer for the Los Angeles Water and Power Company.

Jake attends a public meeting at city hall, where Hollis delivers a presentation, making his case that building a proposed dam would cause a disaster in the region, though the region is facing a drought. Farmers who are in attendance at the event strongly oppose his stand, accuse Hollis of accepting bribery, and protest by releasing a flock of sheep loose in the hall of the building.

After persistent surveillance, Jake’s investigation bears fruit as he manages to capture photos of the philandering husband in the company of his young mistress at a few locations. Jake’s photos get press coverage when they are featured in a local newspaper.

Another woman (Faye Dunaway) appears at Jake’s office, proclaiming that she is the real Evelyn Mulwray and angrily threatens to sue Jake for libel. To find out more, Jake goes to Hollis’s office, where the latter’s secretary tells him that Hollis is not in. Ignoring her protests, Jake walks into Hollis’s room and begins to search it. Here, he sees a photograph of Hollis with the woman who threatened to sue him and realizes that she is, in fact, the real Evelyn Mulwray. At that very moment, deputy chief engineer Russ Yelburton, Hollis’s subordinate, asks Jake to leave the building.

Jake later meets Evelyn at her home and then proceeds to tell her that he has been played. Evelyn immediately informs Jake that she will drop the suit and is surprised when Jake tells her not to and that he intends to find out who set him up. When he asks to meet Hollis, Evelyn tells Jake to find him at the reservoir.

Jake arrives at the reservoir to find the police at the scene. Lieutenant Lou Escobar, Jake’s former colleague, tells Jake that Hollis had somehow just drowned at the reservoir. As Jake surveys the area, he meets a young boy who informs him that the place sometimes experiences periodic flooding. This comes as a revelation to Jake as the area is said to be experiencing a severe drought.

Evelyn meets Jake at his office and hires him to investigate Hollis’s death, as she, like Jake, believes it is a homicide. Jake returns to the reservoir in the dead of night to investigate the mysterious flooding, climbs over its fence, and is almost drowned when a sudden deluge of water is released to the ground. Soon, he is confronted by Mulvihill, the security head of the water department, and his thugs. Polanski himself does a cameo, playing one of Mulvihill’s men. The men give Jake a painful message and warn him not to get too nosy. This disturbing scene is one of the most standout scenes in the movie and jolts the unsuspecting viewer.

Jake’s investigation reveals that Hollis was a business partner of Noah Cross, Evelyn’s rich, well-connected, and powerful father. Jake learns that Hollis had a fallout with Noah. He is unsure if the fallout was caused by a business disagreement or because of Evelyn.

Jake later meets Noah at his club. Noah wants Jake to find Hollis’s mistress. Noah also alleges that his daughter is a jealous woman.

Jake visits the office of records and learns that there is a change in ownership of the land in that area. Evelyn teams up with Jake, and the duo visit an elderly home, where they discover that the ownership of properties in the area has been bought with the names of the residents of the home. None of these residents knew that they owned these properties.

Jake later realizes that the release of water at the reservoir is part of a fiendish plan to deprive the area of water. This is to ‘manufacture’ a drought in the area, which in turn would cause property values to crash in the area. The party responsible for all of this was scheming to buy off land in the area at low rates. Jake realizes that Hollis had uncovered this plan and was eliminated when he refused to go along with it.

Jake begins an affair with Evelyn but suspects that she is hiding secrets. Upon his investigation, more unimaginable shocking revelations come to light. Chinatown ends on a shocking tragic note and is totally unlike the ends of classic noir, where criminals get retribution.

It is a tale of how unbridled power, wealth, and greed can unleash the most evil deeds on others simply to acquire more. Sometimes even fearless, heroic men cannot prevail over these individuals. To say more would deprive the viewer of experiencing the movie’s jolting impact.

The film is included on the best-movie-of-all-time lists of numerous critics. It was nominated for 11 Oscars. It won the Best Screenplay award. It would go on to snag four Golden Globes for Best Drama, Best Director (Polanski), Best Actor (Nicholson), and Best Original Screenplay (Robert Towne).

Chinatown is renowned for its scintillating screenplay. Nicholson’s gritty performance as the rough and tough Gillis is stellar. Faye Dunaway plays the enigmatic Evelyn, who could be more sinister than her soft, charming self-portrayal. John Huston as the ruthless, greedy, and unrepentant Noah Cross delivers a powerful performance that will leave an unforgettable impact on the movie’s audience. It is a movie for the ages and should be on everyone’s must-see list of movies. It is Polanski’s neo-noir masterpiece.