One of the classic detective films, it's suspenseful as it is dark. Jack Nicholson stars as J.J. Gittes, a private investigator that is originally hired by the wife of the Los Angeles water commissioner to spy on her straying spouse. All seems to go well until he discovers that the woman who hired him isn't the wife afterall. The real wife, Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), finds Gittes and threatens him with a lawsuit until her husband turns up dead.

The plot twists and turns as Gittes dives deeper into the city's political scandals, based on a real-life political deal in L.A. in 1908. Gittes investigation leads him into the offices of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, now run by Russ Yelberton (John Hillerman). While there he discovers Noah Cross (John Huston), Evelyn's father, may be the man behind the water and the future of the San Fernando Valley. At one point or another everyone seems to be a suspect.

Nominated for 11 Oscar's, and studied by many, Chinatown is true film noir.

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