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Poster for Chinatown

Film Noir/Neo Noir

Chinatown

Private investigator J. J. Gittes accepts a routine adultery case and is drawn into a widening conspiracy involving Los Angeles water, political power, family secrecy, and a woman he cannot easily read.

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Year
1974
Runtime
131 min
Rating
R
Director
Roman Polanski

Robert Towne’s layered screenplay, Nicholson’s wary performance, and a sunlit Los Angeles full of hidden rot make every new answer deepen the mystery’s moral dread.

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Trailer

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Themes

  • Power and impunity
  • Public resources
  • Family secrecy
  • Corruption
  • Limits of detection

Tone

  • Sinister
  • Elegant
  • Fatalistic
  • Slow-burning

Research provenance

  • Rotten Tomatoesaudience_rating, canonical_title, content_rating, critic_rating, director, genres, key_cast, release_year, runtime, teaser, themes, tone, why_watch
  • Wikipediacanonical_title, director, genres, key_cast, release_year, runtime, teaser, themes, why_watch
  • Wikipediaposter
  • YouTubetrailer