Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery drama film directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. The film was inspired by the California water wars, a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century, by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley. The Robert Evans production, released by Paramount Pictures, was the director's last film in the United States and features many elements of film noir, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.
Chinatown was released in the United States on June 20, 1974, to acclaim from critics. At the 47th Academy Awards, it was nominated for 11 Oscars, with Towne winning Best Original Screenplay. The Golden Globe Awards honored it for Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. The American Film Institute placed it second among its top ten mystery films in 2008. In 1991, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". It is also often cited as one of the greatest films of all time.
A sequel, The Two Jakes, was released in 1990, again starring Nicholson, who also directed, with Robert Towne returning to write the screenplay. The film failed to match the acclaim of its predecessor.
Plot
In 1937, a woman identifying herself as Evelyn Mulwray hires private investigator Jake Gittes to trail her husband Hollis, whom she suspects of infidelity. Hollis Mulwray is chief engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and refuses to build a new dam on safety grounds. Gittes photographs Mulwray in the company of a young woman, and the pictures make their way into the next day's paper.
Gittes is later confronted by the real Evelyn Mulwray, who threatens to sue him. The fake Evelyn used him to discredit Mulwray. Gittes investigates a reservoir and finds his old police associate, Lieutenant Lou Escobar. Hollis' body was found there, having apparently drowned.
Now working for Evelyn, Gittes investigates Mulwray's death as a homicide. Meanwhile, although there is supposedly a drought, huge quantities of water are released from the reservoir every night. Gittes is warned off by Water Department Security Chief Claude Mulvihill and attacked by Mulvihill's henchman. At his office, Gittes receives a call from Ida Sessions, the fake Mrs. Mulwray. She refuses to say who hired her, but tells Gittes to check that day's obituaries.
Gittes learns that Mulwray was once the business partner of Evelyn's wealthy father, Noah Cross. At his club, Cross offers to double Gittes's fee if he searches for Mulwray's missing mistress. At the hall of records, Gittes discovers that much of the Northwest Valley has recently changed ownership. He visits an orange grove in the valley but is attacked by landowners who believe him to be an agent of the Water Department, which is sabotaging the water supply to force them out.
The Water Department is drying up the land so it can be bought cheaply, and Mulwray was murdered when he uncovered the plan. Some of the property in the valley was seemingly purchased by a recently deceased retirement home resident. Gittes and Evelyn bluff their way into the retirement home and confirm that other real-estate deals were transacted in the names of unknowing residents. Their visit is interrupted by the suspicious director, who calls Mulvihill.
After escaping Mulvihill and his thugs, Gittes and Evelyn hide at Evelyn's house and sleep together. Gittes reveals that, during his days as a police officer in Chinatown, he once tried to protect a woman he loved from being hurt, and ended up making sure she was hurt. During the night, Evelyn receives a phone call that makes her leave. Before that, she warns Gittes that her father is dangerous. Gittes follows Evelyn to a house and sees her comforting Mulwray's mistress. He accuses Evelyn of holding the woman hostage, but she claims the woman is her sister, Katherine.