50 years ago, an iconic neo-noir thriller shocked audiences and changed the genre forever

As a classic genre in cinema history, film noir showcases the dark side of human society better than almost any other.

Generally spanning from the 1940s to the 1950s, classic film noir arose from the hardboiled detective genre (think James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler), filtered through the deep cynicism of the postwar era. The genre frequently focuses on humanity’s darkest motivations and actions (greed, corruption, betrayal, murder), with a grizzled, sometimes amoral investigator (like Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon Or The big sleep) investigating a case in the seedy underbelly of the big city (often Los Angeles). These elements fueled a new era of neo-noir masterpieces like the Coen Bros. Single blood (1984) or the mind-blowing by David Lynch Mulholland Drive (2001). But perhaps the greatest neo-noir film to synthesize all of these elements is Roman Polanski’s dark 1974 masterpiece. Chinese district.

Set in the 1930s, amid Southern California’s historic water wars, Chinese district follows private detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), who is hired by one “Evelyn Mulwray” to investigate her husband, Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling), head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, under suspicion of a connection. He discovers Hollis with a young woman, and the photos somehow end up on the front page of the local newspaper. The real Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) arrives and threatens legal action, throwing Gittes into a series of in-depth investigations that reveal both overwhelming corruption and shocking depravity among Los Angeles’ premier elites. The investigation proves dangerous (to put it mildly) and the real Evelyn Mulwray hires Gittes to dig deeper into the problem, sparking an increasingly harrowing look at the overwhelming corruption and shocking depravity at the heart of the city. Fair warning: spoilers follow.

At the heart of it all is a ruthless business tycoon, crime lord, rampant villain and Evelyn’s father, Noah Cross (John Huston). He is working on a secret plan to drain the valley’s surrounding land, devaluing it so that it can be quickly and suspiciously purchased and then incorporated into Los Angeles. Of course, classic film noir regularly reminds us to be wary of rich and powerful men, such as those who hunt murderously. the Maltese falcon in The Maltese Falconand corrupt authorities like Touch of evilIt’s corrupt Hank Quinlan. Greed-driven villainy, political corruption, the seedy underbelly of “the City” and the inability to trust the “system” for justice permeate the various films of the noir genre, but Chinese district brings them to a delicate and devastating point: the very heart of the city is a conspiracy of the rich and powerful against the masses (here played by the slimy, smiling Noah Cross). This is not incidental or incidental, it is the system working as intended, and it is complete and utter.

And then it gets worse.

Not only does Noah Cross destroy lives to amplify his wealth and power, but Gittes discovers that Evelyn is hiding his daughter (and, we discover, sister) Katherine (Belinda Palmer), a child born when Cross raped his daughter Evelyn when she was 15 years old. As Gittes attempts to help Evelyn and Katherine escape Cross, the weight of the evil tycoon’s political and economic power becomes too much to overcome as the film heads toward a tragic conclusion. Suffice it to say that Gittes finds it impossible to free the women from Cross’s clutches given his unassailable level of political power. Gittes’ colleague advises him to let go in the film’s most memorable line: “Forget it, Jake.” This is Chinatown. There is nothing that can be done about this wickedness, given all the power at stake. It is just.

Even Noah Cross’s most heinous acts, his sexual assault on Evelyn and his disturbing desire to bring Katherine into his orbit, are treated less as an individual moral failing than as an effect of his wealth and power. When Cross asks Gittes about Katherine, he responds, “I want the only girl I have left.” » Gittes asks him who he blames for his estrangement from Evelyn, and Cross’s response sends shivers down your spine: “I don’t blame myself. You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to admit that at the right time and in the right place, they are capable of Nothing.” Cross has made the most heinous choices a father can make, a predation he probably intends to repeat, and his implicit rationalization is that anyone would do the same if they could (and had the power to get out of it).

It’s a masterful, desperate descent into crushing corruption and shocking depravity among the rich and powerful of early Los Angeles. By questioning the truth about Noah Cross – privilege incarnate – Chinese district refines and modernizes age-old noir tropes. In doing so, the film demonstrates one of the most elegant and brutal statements in cinematic history: unchecked excesses of wealth become absolute and untouchable power, producing the most heinous depravity imaginable. Even more devastating, Chinese district is not an Eisenstein ode to the working class, nor a vengeful Jason Statham bee-themed kick-fest. Here, no one comes to save you and nothing can be done. All you can do is forget about it. It’s just Chinatown.

Chinese district is streaming on Paramount+ or ad-supported on Pluto TV.