Mark's Must See Movies - Chinatown

In mid 1940s Los Angeles, Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a private detective who specializes mostly in catching husbands and wives committing adultery. When a woman named Eveyln Mulwray hires Jake to follow her husband Hollis, the case presents itself to him like any other. After finding Mr. Mulwray keeping company with a younger woman, Gittes believes that his job is done and yet another one of his cases has been closed. Jake soon discovers though that the woman who hired him to follow Hollis Mulwray as an imposter and to complicate things even more, Hollis has been found dead.

What started off as a simple investigation for Jake has now led him into a web of lies and murder. Jake soon finds that finding the truth will be far dangerous and disturbing than expected.

Chinatown is widely considered one of the true classics of Hollywood. Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunway portray their characters perfectly and give some of the best performances of their careers. With plenty of twists and turns, Chinatowns greatest strength is in it's screenplay. Now almost 40 years old, this movie is solidly in my must see category.