Chinatown is one of the greatest films of all time. But you know this already. When I discovered there was a sequel with Robert Towne directing his screenplay and Jack Nicholson reprising his role, I was all in. The film went into production roughly ten years after Chinatown. Unfortunately, it would see years of development hell. Production ceased when Towne had a falling out with the producer. Nicholson, eager to see this story through, took over as director and even personally funded some of the project. Despite its flaws and its rough production, The Two Jakes still has a lot to offer to those who hold its predecessor close to their heart.
The year is 1948 in postwar Los Angeles, and private investigator (and now, celebrated war veteran) Jake Gittes is settling in. He has a fiánce, he’s working on his golf game, and business is good. He’s even gained a few pounds. For 11 years, Gittes seems to be moving on from his past after the events that took place in Chinatown. The film opens with him in the middle of a new case helping out a new client of his, Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel). Gittes discovers that Berman’s wife is cheating on him with his real estate business partner, so they set up a sting operation at a motel to catch them in the act. Things go awry when Berman, unbeknownst to Gittes, has a gun and shoots his business partner in cold blood. With no witnesses in the room except for an audio recording of the event, both the L.A. police and Berman are hassling Gittes for the tape recording, all while Gittes suspects there is more to Berman’s case than meets the eye. He discovers a conspiracy involving oil, one which evokes memories from 11 years earlier. Gittes must face his past once again in order to get to the bottom of the truth.
The best part of this film is its premise. The story is all there. It’s complicated, even if a tad convoluted, but plays well off the events of Chinatown. It reiterates the fact that Gittes is always forced to revisit a past that he is constantly trying to forget. The bar was high for a sequel and I think this was the story to tell to hit that bar. I love the idea of Gittes “settling in” so to speak. He’s trying to live a normal life and go about his business, even trying to start a family. Only the resurgence of a case from his past could disrupt this new lifestyle, and it does. Nicholson’s narration throughout the film is a nice touch, adding some insight to the way he is thinking and going about the case. Some people fault the film for its messy narrative, but I actually like having a story with so many moving pieces. It’s smart, and in the end it all comes together.
As for its faults, the film does tend to drag at times. Nicholson might not have been the right choice to direct, but if not for him this film may have never been made. Some scenes just felt like they would linger for no real reason. Seconds would feel like minutes as we observe Gittes going through old files and going about the case. With almost a two and a half hour run time, the pacing should be better. I found myself checking my watch throughout the movie. There is also an uncomfortable love scene of sorts involving Gittes and another main character. It felt out of place, weirdly staged, and didn’t really add anything to the story or to its characters. This movie doesn’t stand on its own, nor does it appeal to a broad audience. And maybe it doesn’t have to. But a key plot point in the movie doesn’t really work unless you’ve seen Chinatown. It’s ending definitely strays away from a typical noir ending, but the mood and story elements certainly make it a neo-noir. But hey, it’s just good to see Gittes back on the screen.
Overall, I liked the movie. I recognize its flaws; admittedly, I want to like this movie more than I actually liked it. I love that I can follow up with one of my favorite movie characters. It has a great premise and has some great elements to it that do add to the character of Jake Gittes. Unfortunately, it falls short in its execution. We could have seen a much more refined final product had there not been any production issues and if Towne (or even Polanski) had directed it. In the end Jake Gittes is, and forever will be one of the coolest characters to hit the screen, and this movie doesn’t change that.
