Chinatown (1974)

A movie that plays out like a political thriller, a fever-pitched story of doomed romance gone inevitably awry, a gritty private-eye noir, and a harrowing indictment of one rich man’s absolute power and absolute corruption, Chinatown (1974) is a complex and subtle weave of characters, motives, circumstances, and conflicts. A plot summary seems simple enough: A two-bit Shamus is tricked into exposing the vulnerability of a moral man who stands in the way of an immoral opportunist, unraveling a scheme to bilk the taxpaying populace of Los Angeles out of many millions of dollars during the expansion of that nascent city into a sprawling megalopolis. Also, a wealthy bastard has used his beautiful daughter as a breeding mare. This description is like saying the Mona Lisa is a painting of a smiling woman. Chinatown is a challenging and absorbing entertainment. Its rewards and insights are as deep and stunning as those to be gleaned from the very best literature.