Chinatown

1974

Directed by Roman Polanski

Netflix says… With a suspicious femme fatale bankrolling his snooping, private eye J. J. Gittes uncovers intricate dirty dealings in the Los Angeles waterworks and gets his nose slashed for his trouble in director Roman Polanski’s complex neo-noir classic.

So… if it’s filmed in color, does that make it neo-noir?

I’m surprised at how much I’ve liked this movie. I’m not a fan of Polanski. I’m not a fan of noir, neo or otherwise. But the way this film comes together really made me enjoy it. This might be, in my opinion, Jack Nicholson’s best performance. Even better than Cuckoo’s Nest. That might be a blasphemous statement to some people. Could just be that I really enjoy this Jake character. It’s a little depressing and more than a little messed up, but it’s top-notch storytelling.