Chinatown (1974): Before We Watch
There’s No Such Thing As an “Innocent Question”
Friends, a semi-spoiler alert: nothing good happens in Chinatown. From casual racism to intimate violence, plot and themes center on people doing bad things to each other. Be aware, should you choose to watch, that viewing this story will involve some rough going.
But this rough-going also makes the film compelling to consider. Questions, as always, follow, but I can’t help but feature the broadest question upfront: What do you make of it all?
If the depicted world is one we might reject, is it because of the way the film depicts this world? That is, would we be rejecting this film’s view of the world? Or is the film merely depicting the world, as it already is? And would we actually be reacting not so much to the film itself, but to the world that it reflects – the world in which we ourselves are living?
Anyway, hello, welcome, and thank you for stopping by. For new visitors, here’s what this situation is all about:
With Savor the View, we’ll watch, think, and talk about movies and the things that matter. A special welcome and thanks to our regular crew!
Each Monday, I share brief, spoiler-free remarks and questions to frame viewing a movie on our own.
Each Thursday, I share post-viewing questions to poke at the issues, ideas, quandaries, inspirations...whatever...that movie might have summoned (spoilers, ahoy!).
Paid subscribers can talk it all out in a weekly Discussion Thread.
Overview
Chinatown (1974): Interestingly, John Huston of The Maltese Falcon directorial fame appears here as Noah Cross and Chinatown director, while co-writer Roman Polanski appears here, in his own film, as “Man with Knife.” And Jack Nicholson, as main character J.J. Gittes, dates Cross’s daughter in the movie, but also dated Huston’s daughter Anjelica in real life. It’s all a bit…much.
Chinatown was recognized at the time of its release (1975 Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay), and has remained understood ever since, as one of the all-time best-written screenplays.
Over time, grumbling has persisted about historical accuracy – i.e., did any of this actually happen in this specific way in Los Angeles at the turn of the 20th century? Answer: assertive creative license was taken with a story based in fact. But I find it curious that so much of this grumbling is readily found in a quick internet search, yet in just such a search, comparatively little can be found grappling with the “Chinatown” part of the whole thing. Title itself, notwithstanding, there just hasn’t been as much tackling how the Chinatown neighborhood and people of Asian descent feature in this film both so prominently (ahem, the title) and also, not-so-much.
The universal/general
The screenplay draws from real-life water drama in early 20th-century Los Angeles. Do you ever sense the movie reflects or invokes anything beyond its own specific, time- and place-bound troubles? What seems to be at stake?
The specific/unique
Why this title – why is this film called “Chinatown?” Why the frequent, casual references to racialized identities or racist tropes? Do these references seem arbitrary and thoughtless? Or do they advance the plot or characterizations in some purposeful way?
How much and in what ways do time and place matter to this story?
How is each character introduced, in terms of what they’re doing, saying, and wearing? What does this suggest about each of them?
And I was absolutely captivated: why are Evelyn Mulwray’s (Faye Dunaway) eyebrows so very, very thin?
The viewer is always present
How do you feel about these characters? Do you care what happens to any of them? Why or why not?
What do you make of the mood in the morgue scene? Such casual vibes…
Why subscribe?
Paid subscribers can gather round their screens and share their thoughts on each week's Discussion Thread and get full access to the publication archives.
Subscribe any which way to get full access to the newsletter.