Chinatown

In the following essay I will be exploring, what in my opinion sets Chinatown apart from classical noir and what elements does it pertain and try and bring across that Chinatown still pays tribute to classical noir by including specific stylistic elements.

Unlike classical Noir; Chinatown is in colour whereas as classical noir in my opinion makes use of Black and White film to accentuate low-key lighting. Chinatown does pay tribute to this style, by including Black and White photos at the very start of the film, but by using a photo, which is normally an item of nostalgia but more generally a representation of the past. By this simple action Chinatown tries to say that black and white was part of the past, but coulour film is the future. A pro-progressive comment.

Most Noir films play with the idea of contrast, whether it be a contrast in lighting, character personalities or the classical idea of good vs. evil.(In Chinatown this theme is portrayed with Freshwater vs. Saltwater). Chinatown does still retain most of these elements. In my opinion Characterizations in Chinatown differ from classical noir films and more specifically the detective, whom is no longer the selfless servant of the public, but more realistically is in the pursuit of wealth, as any other person in a Capitalist society.

 The first scene of the movie may mislead one to think that the detective is selfless, for example he tells Curly “ I don’t want your last dime, what kind of a guy do you think I am?” (Mr. Gittes; Chinatown) This may act as a reference to the old idea of the detective, but it changes in the end, when he asks curly a favor to pay him back. The detective in contrast to classical noir, does not work on cases on his own, it subtracts from the old idea of the detective being the independent and self-capable masculine figure of society “I can’t do everything myself” (Mr. Gittes; Chinatown). The false mrs. Mulray further strengthens the idea that the once powerful figure cannot handle anything by himself  “Ofcourse not” (false mr. Mulray; Chinatown), by replying to his statement in such a specific manner, she implies that it is a commonly accepted idea.

I’m under the impression that classical noir did not normally feature people of colour or of other nationalities. And if so they were normally portrayed as the undesirable or evil characters of the story. In this respect Chinatown slightly moves away, but still portrays a sense within that specific society that these people’s views are not taken into account or are simply ignored, Chinatown moves away from the idea that they are evil by saying they are simply misunderstood and in truth if Mr.  Gittes would of listened to the gardener in the first place, he would of found the broken glasses in the pond and would of solved the case much quicker “salt water bad for glass”.

Film Noir has always taken a dark and sinister tone to their subject matter, but there is no other Noir Film that I’ve seen before , that delves deeper into social taboos than Chinatown. Things that no film maker would explore before, in fear of retribution from government and/or conservative society at large. Chinatown explores a common theme present within other noir films, more specifically  Violence but in my opinion pushes it to the extremes with the gruesome images of Mrs. Mulray who has been shot through the head at the end of the film and a extremely offensive scene of Mr. Gittes slapping Mrs. Mulray to get what he wants from her..  This to a certain extent challenges the conventions as to what can be shown on film and also makes the conservative audience of the time aware of things such as incest within their own society,  which they would previously have not been made aware of.

In the old noir films, the secretary was normally portrayed as the safe figure. She was masculinized and was no threat to the detectives moral obligations (not to have sex), Sex was normally constructed in such away that it served as a distraction and obstacle for the detective. In my opinion the secretary is quite sexed-up and may be a sexual threat to the detective, he does not try to keep to any moral code and does end up sleeping with his client “Mrs. Mulray: Hollis seems to to think your an innocent man. Mr Gittes: Oh I have been accused of allot of things, but never that” (Mrs. Mulray, Mr. Gittes; Chinatown)

The detective of the old’s dialogue and subject matter of dialogue differs from the classic noir detective. As we see Mr. Gittes not only speaking about the case, but he would sometimes makes highly crass and sexual jokes. “Hey, whats the matter with you, your screwing just like a Chinaman” (Mr. Gittes; Chinatown) This is normally not seen in other films before this.

Chinatown itself is a place of a mysterious past, no one really knows what happened there and most people in the film don’t want to know and it is this mysterious theme that Chinatown still retains in conjunction to the classical noir films “Forget it Jake it’s Chinatown” (Chinatown). Mr. Gittes often finds himself not being able to trust anyone in his life, he at one point even suspects Mr.s Mulray who in the end turns out to be the victim.

I think one of the key themes Chinatown moves away from that of classical noir. Is the constructed idea of the highly authoritative , highly-capable figure of society which is normally embodied by the detective. Chinatown demasculinates this heroic figure of the past to the more truthful role that men play in society. Jake Gittes never really solves the case, he only worsens the situation, he fails in almost everything he does, we never find out who killed the girl who acted as Mrs. Mulray. He can’t stand up for himself and when he does he fails miserably. He rightfully gets his nose cut open for being nosy, which counters the idea of him being brave or being a hero in any sense.

Chinatown has subtly made multiple references to the classical noir period, such as the venetian blinds, mystery, untrustworthiness, subjective view to the story, violence, good vs. evil. It might be said that Chinatown contrasts with the Classical Noir films in certain respects and in others one can’t really say, which gives you a sense of mystery in just exploring this notion. Maybe Chinatown is Neo-Noir, maybe not, nobody knows... Forget it, It’s Chinatown.

Filmography:

• Chinatown, Directed by Roman Polanski,a Paramount Picture, Copyright 1974 Long Road Productions.