Film noir frequently explores the extremes of the American character, highlighting his dark and treacherous abilities, but also his capacity for decency and truth. Although many critics agree that the quintessential noir period occurred in the 1940s and 1950s, Roman Polanski's 1974 film Chinatown re-invokes the tradition, functioning "as both an homage and a critique of classic noir” (Graydon 41). Like Raymond Chandler before him, Polanski uses the climate of booming Los Angeles to embody his vision of the ultimate film noir: employing the tradition of the justice-seeking detective who must navigate the corrupt city and overcome the dishonest advances of the femme fatale, Polanski highlights the brutality of noir while offering a modern take on the classic genre. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Like so many film noirs of the 1940s and 1950s that were set in Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco, Chinatown takes place in Los Angeles in 1937. The city of Los Angeles itself is an integral part of the genre, particularly in the works of Chandler, whose detective Phillip Marlowe is often on the lookout for various parts of the city (Hausladen 49). Urban sprawl has even been described as a “maze” by author Nicholas Christopher and as a “key to entering the psychological and aesthetic framework of film noir” (Hausladen 48). Polanski takes these concepts to the extreme in Chinatown as his protagonist Jake Gittes finds himself in both a psychological and physical maze during his investigation into the death of Hollis Mulwray. After Mr. Mulwray's death, Gittes spends a night investigating near the town's reservoirs, jumping a chain link fence and searching the interior of the premises for clues. Polanski's camera captures Gittes' face behind the fence several times during this scene, as the footage suggests that the detective's views and abilities are somewhat limited due to the vast and bare landscape. As Gittes wanders through the empty tank, his character is often isolated in the frame with the long open channels appearing to be a physical maze - these channels only lead him to further twists and turns, just before they collapse. suddenly fill with water to confuse Gittes. as he investigates the homicide cases of the victims who ironically drowned in the middle of a desert drought. The city of Los Angeles was not only transformed into both a figurative and literal labyrinth by Polanski, but also "a city and a culture marked by ambiguity." , trying to find his identity” (Hausladen 49). The concept of uncertainty is important to Chinatown, as both the detective and the audience often find themselves disoriented throughout the narrative. The history of Los Angeles, its lack of identity, and the feeling of a lingering “past” combine in the film to contaminate the characters (Cordaiy 121). Sydney-based author Hunter Cordaiy explains that "this sense of the 'past' is essential to all black stories (one of the most famous examples is Out of the Past [Jacques Tourner, 1947])" (121 ). In Polanski's Chinatown, the past is an invisible presence, but felt throughout the film: Gittes had an incident in Los Angeles' Chinatown, and although Evelyn Mulwray asks if a woman Gittes had once loved died there, the absolute truth is never revealed either to her or to the public; Evelyn herself has a horrible past that she cannot escape, having been raped by her father Noah Cross at age 14 and giving birth to his child whom shemust now hide and protect; Evelyn's father, Noah Cross, and murdered Hollis Mulwray were once co-owners of Los Angeles' water and electricity supply, and their past relationships and history are the driving forces behind Gittes' investigation. With all of Chinatown's central characters, "one gets the feeling that no character will ever escape their history or anything the city has done to them (Cordaiy 121). If Polanski invokes the tradition of the Los Angeles setting and the “sense of the past” to pay homage to classic noirs, he also does so primarily by revolving his story around a detective. Screenwriter Robert Towne, who collaborated with Polanski on the screenplay, even admitted to beginning the writing process "with the prototype Philip Marlowe...a tarnished knight" (Hausladen 57). But unlike Marlowe and other detectives of the 1940s and 1950s who almost always seemed to be one step ahead of the bad guys while controlling all peripheral situations, Gittes is oblivious to much of his surroundings and the connections between people and events. - “this is therefore a sober characterization of the old Sam Spade-Philip Marlowe tradition” (Gehring 19). Although Gittes lives alone and was a former member of the police force like most noir detectives, his character's abilities to perceive danger and to fend off these violent threats appear to be significantly weaker than the typical noir detective. In a scene where Polanski makes his appearance, Gittes is apprehended by Polanski's character "The Man with the Knife" and another henchman. Unlike the classic detective who either defeats the villain's henchmen or takes the hits (but leaves no physical scar afterwards), Polanski's "Knife Man" horribly slices a giant slit in Gittes' left nostril, the leaving her vulnerable and bleeding profusely. Throughout the next half of the film, Gittes is forced to wear an oversized white bandage over his face, now becoming the butt of jokes rather than displaying the detectives' normal quick-witted charm. Not only does Gittes appear physically weak while wearing the white bandage, but Polanski also strips the detective of his physically masculine and dominant attributes. Classic noir detectives dress in scruffy clothing and live in small apartments that represent their independence from both society and the law (Cordaiy 120); they also tend to have little money and are forced to either exploit their customers or take any type of business to obtain capital. Gittes is described as exploiting his clients when he sells photos of the supposedly unfaithful Hollis Mulwray to local newspapers, and yet "(he) is impeccably dressed and owns a detective agency with a secretary and two agents" (Cordaiy 120). Instead of appearing tough and independent, Gittes appears elegant, refined, and dependent on his colleagues when he tells Ida Sessions (who is posing as Evelyn Mulwray) that he is unable to hear her case privately or without her. help from his two associates. While Chinatown destroys the notion of the omniscient detective (Cordaiy 122), it also reinvents and recasts the role of the femme fatale. Typical femme fatales appear to be figures of pure malevolence: lying, cheating, and killing their way to the top in search of a position of wealth and power. Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity may be the classic example, but Polanski's femme fatale hardly compares to her in any way. The actions of the classic femme fatale are often motivated by a painful past or an unhealthy relationship with an abusive lover (Kathie Moffat's relationship. 2009.