Questions Unanswered: Chinatown

Questions Unanswered

Chinatown is a 1974 neo-noir film directed by Roman Polanski. The film is part mystery, part drama, and is set in 1930s Los Angeles, California. The plot is based in part on actual events that formed the California Water Wars, in which William Mulholland acted on behalf of Los Angeles' interests to secure water rights in the Owens Valley. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's California Water Project was publicly debated before it acquired significant property in Owens Valley, because it needed voter approval for its bond financing. However, once approval was given, Mulholland stopped at nothing to acquire water rights; misleading residents of the Owens Valley by claiming that Los Angeles would only take water for domestic purposes, not for irrigation. By 1905, through aggressive purchases and bribery, the LADWP had acquired enough acreage to begin building the city's aqueduct. By 1928 it had drained the Owens Lake dry. Mulholland's career was essentially over after the St. Francis Dam, which he had had built, failed just hours after he personally inspected the site on March 12, 1928.

Chinatown is about a private detective named J.J. Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson. When a client hires him to spy on her "husband," Hollis Mulwray, who is rumored to be having an affair with another woman, Jake uncovers a plot against the man involving the city of Los Angeles' water. To top it off there is a sex scandal involving the Hollis' real wife, Evelyn Mulwray, and a real estate con devised by her industrialist father, Noah Cross, and all backed up by a vast network of corrupt city officials and landowners who cause problems for Gittes. The story coincides with the ideals of the early 1970s, when the American urban landscape and economic power structures were in flux.

To truly understand the film you must know what was going on in the United States during the early 1970's. The Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the 1973 oil crisis all play some sort of role in the principles of the era. All three incidents involved corruption and mistrust, and shaped the beliefs of the people during the time period. The oil crisis of 1973 was caused by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after it declared it would limit or stop oil shipments to the United States and other countries if they supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. This led to rationing and increased prices of oil in the United States. Richard Nixon caused much of the turmoil during this time period. Nixon pledged withdrawal of U.S. troops in Vietnam during his presidential election, but later found it was much easier said than done. Adding to that mistrust was Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to his resignation. Roman Polanski was able to successfully intertwine early 1970s ideologies and events with a completely different time period.

Polanski does an excellent job throughout the film, letting the movie progress by itself and not rushing the outcome. The film takes place in a span of a few days, yet Gittes moves at an even keel pace during his journey, picking up pieces to the puzzle along the way. Polanski provides enough twists and turns to keep the movie interesting and the mystery going. He wanted to leave the audience guessing and unsure of what was to come. This slow pace and uncertainty can be related to the Vietnam War and Watergate; neither event unfolded quickly and was dragged on longer than it should have. Solutions did not come