Analysis: Chinatown

Analysis: Chinatown

'Chinatown' was one of the first films to be labelled a 'neo-noir' film. The film is set in 1940s Los Angeles with Jack Nicholson playing a Bogart-like private detective. Excluding European cinema, film noir had been dead in Hollywood for about 15 years, so this was the return of the genre (if you don't include the satirical neo-noir 'The Long Goodbye' from the year prior).

As the opening credits begin we can easily gather that this film is going for the traditional and classic, Hollywood noir feel. The artwork and background of the credits alone would not look out of  place in the '40s or '50s. The opening score of the film also has the stereotypical jazz sound that can be heard in almost every early noir film. From the credits we can also see that this film stars legendary filmmaker John Huston, who directed the first major Hollywood noir picture, 'The Maltese Falcon'.

The first image of the film we see after the credits is that of a group of photos depicting a married woman having an affair. The pictures have been taken by Nicholson's private detective character. This immediately lets the audience know that this film will be nothing like its far tamer 1940s counterparts. The film's opening setting is that of a private detective's office, just like in many other noirs like 'The Maltese Falcon', which 'Chinatown' is clearly trying to pay homage to. However, our lead character appears to be nothing like Humphrey Bogart. He isn't tough, he complains about people touching his blinds,and is obviously no stranger to taking sleazy and less than respectable cases. While appearing familiar, the film intentionally drifts from the codes and conventions of the genre. Nicholson and his associates then speak to woman about a new case, a scene that is almost directly taken from the opening of 'The Maltese Falcon'. While investigating, the lead character has to attend a press conference. During this event he displays lazy and disrespectful behavior, yawning and attempting to make himself more comfortable. This once again shows us that this is not the conventional noir hero, or film as a whole, that we may have been expecting.