Jake Gittes: A Brief Analysis Of The Film Chinatown

Analysis of Chinatown Upon viewing the film Chinatown a discovery can be made within a sequence of events that can be traced back to the beginning scene of the movie. This particular film is a movie of the private eye genre. Such films are made to where they convey the viewpoint of the detective and place the viewer in the mindset of the detective as the mystery unfolds beforehand. The evidence is clear throughout the film but you are only able to piece it together once the film has ceased. The discovery made is that the evidence presented to Jake Gittes is not particularly as it seems and is not easily understood as goes for multiple things during the course of the film. In most private eye movies the facts are presented but in a matter in which it isn’t fully understood and is portrayed in a rather complex form. The film is portrayed through the viewpoint of one J.J. Gittes, who is the main character, a private investigator who is good at his occupation. Gittes is a no non-sense man; he accepts the facts for what they are

The fact that what the audience sees in these photos are to be given face value of undeniable evidence allows for the audience to believe the old adage of “seeing is believing”. In the beginning when Gittes successfully documented Curly’s wife in the act of sex, the audience is led to believe that photos are concrete evidence, which isn’t always the case. For instance when Gittes spots Mr. Mulwray with a young lady in the park it may seem clear that he is being unfaithful to his wife when he is actually spending time with his daughter. The photos throughout the movie mislead the audience. Another instance is when an associate of Gittes, Walsh, manages to capture photographs of Mr. Hollis Mulwray arguing in the street with an elderly male. These photos are an example of irony for the fact that they do not necessarily present the truths but abstruse the