Forget it Jake its "Chinatown"

Jake Gittes' (Jack Nicholson) swagger, guile, intelligence and integrity equals nothing against his victor's vast wealth and devious schemes. I can see why its now a template for its genre, from which all other conspiracy thrillers draw from, and pay homage to. Subsequently, any viewer will experience a sense of deja vu over certain scenes, sequences, music, costume, dialogue. Even so, its undeniably an inventive film which somehow retains its freshness. I'd like to see if Hollywood could produce something as seminal in this decade: a film that is entirely original and that can dominate cinema for decades. I've previously seen Curtis Hanson's 'LA Confidential', which is an excellent film, and Brian De Palma's 'Black Dahlia', an implausibly bad film from a talented group of people. The former, as good as it is, just doesn't match the artistry of 'Chinatown', or even the tightness of Robert Towne's story. 

What i've taken away from it, in a cinematic storytelling way, is the changes from still shots to handheld ones. At each point it was done it made me want to lean in; it created a sense of alarm, and as such it was used effectively to change the tone of the scene it was used in to further the story. From an interview with Roman Polanski, I found that he always shot Jake from the back to help tell the story in a first person narrative, the way that Raymond Chandler wrote his crime stories. 

I want all my films to look like this: whatever camera this was shot on, i'm using it if I ever direct a feature. For everything to fall into place as perfectly as it does in 'Chinatown' makes it a real rarity, and it deserves its masterpiece title. 

An Education

I seen this through See Film First, where if you're quick enough, you can have seats to a film that isn't yet released, for free. They do this with films that are highly regarded and are expected to do well mainly through word of mouth, compensating for a small advertising budget. Carey Mulligan, who plays the main character Jenny, made the cover of Little White Lies, and was film of the month at Sight & Sound. With the films champions relatively small publications like these, See Film First is an inventive idea to give films like this a chance of being successful, which An Education most definitely will be. (It also has to be said that articles in various broadsheets have already been dedicated to the picture). 


The film running time breezes by due to its easy mise-en-scene and straightforward storytelling. Its the kind of effect that seems so effortless precisely because of the amount of effort Nick Hornby (screenwriter) and Lone Scherfig (director) must have made in structuring the story and realising the characters. Scherfig's direction has no self-consciousness. It is elegant in her shot selection of each scene, stepping aside to let the actor's strengths come to bear light on their character. 


Its minimal, its not showy, and it tells the story brilliantly. I think the scene that showcases Scherfig's subtlety best is one at the Walthamstow racetrack, where David's (Peter Saarsgard) best friend Danny (Dominic Cooper), is dancing with his girlfriend Jenny in a provocative, and vigorous, way. The shots between the two dancers gradually become closer; the close - ups of David's face blur the background (he's focused on one thing); the cuts between the two build tension - and when the character's meet, Scherfig votes simplicity in a long shot encompassing all the actors, as David panics and takes Jenny home.