The Film Chinatown

The film, Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski tells a story about corruption, incest, and privatization of water. The plot in this multi-layered, noir film draws upon the history of Los Angeles and the water wars of the early 20th century. The film was released in 1974 and the main characters were portrayed by Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. Chinatown was Polanski’s return to Hollywood five years after the Manson family murder of his wife, Sharon Tate. I believe that this experience influenced scenes of the film. In the opening scene of Chinatown, it is revealed that the main character, Jake Gittes; portrayed by Jack Nicholson, is a private investigator. The narrative takes place in the 1930s and begins when

The only character with a pure motive is killed off and the person she was trying to protect ends up with the villain in the story. The hero, Nicholson, is not successful in his effort and must cope with his failure. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that the death of Dunaway’s character is related to that of Polanski’s deceased wife, Sharon Tate. Both women were beautiful blondes murdered in Los Angeles. I believe that the death of Evelyn is symbolic in two ways. The first is that she reflects Tate and the second relates to the motif of vision, or lack of vision. The incestuous relationship reminds me of the Oedipus myth where he married his mother. Oedipus is blind to his future fate and I related this to both Dunaway and Nicholson’s characters. Evelyn had an issue with one of her eyes that Jake pointed out early in the film and her death is a result of a gunshot wound that exits from her left eye. Nicholson is also blind to much of what is occurring around him for most the film. I believe that the film is loosely based on the Owens River Valley in California. The main character, Hollis Mulrway has a relatively similar surname to William Mulholland, chief of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the early 1900s. He is credited with the drying up of once fertile lands in the region after sending water from an aqueduct to Los Angeles. He was also responsible for many deaths due to a malfunction of the St. Francis Dam which resulted in the deaths of several hundred people. A similar catastrophe was hinted at by the Mulwray character in the