Chinatown

1974130 minutesR

6.8

Arcplot Score

📊 Solid

Unverified

⭐ 8.1IMDb

🍅 98%Rotten Tomatoes

Ⓜ️ 92/100Metacritic

🎬 7.9TMDb

📊 4.7Popularity

🏆Won 1 Oscar. 21 wins & 24 nominations total

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Directed by: Roman Polanski

In 1937 Los Angeles, private investigator Jake 'J.J.' Gittes specializes in cheating-spouse cases. His current target is Hollis Mulwray, high-profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, whose wife suspects him of infidelity. In following Mulwray, Gittes witnesses some usual business dealings, such as a public meeting for construction of a new dam to create additional water supply for Los Angeles, as fresh water is vital to the growing community during the chronic drought; Mulwray opposes the dam. Eventually Gittes sees Mulwray meeting with an unknown young woman who isn't his wife. Once news of the supposed tryst between Mulwray and this woman hits the media, additional information comes to light that makes Gittes believe that Mulwray is being framed for something and that he himself is being set up. In his investigation of the issue behind Mulwray's framing and his own setup, Gittes is assisted by Mulwray's wife Evelyn, but he thinks she isn't being forthright with him. The further he gets into the investigation, the more secrets he uncovers about the Mulwrays' professional and personal dealings, including Mulwray's former business-partnership with Evelyn's father, Noah Cross. The identity of the unknown woman may be the key to uncovering the whole story.

Box Office

Budget:$6.0M

Revenue:$30.0M

Profit:$24.0M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision4.9/10

Emotional Arc Impact5.5/10

Thematic Consistency10/10

Overall Score6.8/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

Opening Image

1 min

Theme Stated

10 min

Set-Up

20 min

Catalyst

30 min

Debate

45 min

Break Into Two

55 min

B Story

65 min

Fun and Games

75 min

Midpoint

90 min

Bad Guys Close In

100 min

All Is Lost

110 min

Dark Night of the Soul

120 min

Break Into Three

125 min

Finale

128 min

Final Image

130 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

Opening Image

1 min

Private investigator J.J. Gittes working on a routine adultery case in Los Angeles. City bright but morally dark underneath.

Theme Stated

10 min

Gittes: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Theme: corruption, moral compromise, and the impossibility of true justice.

Set-Up

20 min

Gittes is hired to investigate Hollis Mulwray's wife. Discovers layers of deceit. L.A. water and real estate schemes hinted.

Catalyst

30 min

Hollis Mulwray dies under suspicious circumstances. Investigation deepens. Stakes rise.

Debate

45 min

Gittes uncovers corruption and danger. Must navigate powerful interests. Can he solve case without being destroyed?

Break Into Two

55 min

Gittes commits to uncovering truth. Enters morally corrupt world, confronts dangerous figures, explores hidden histories.

B Story

65 min

Relationship with Evelyn Mulwray. Emotional core, moral complexity. Trust and suspicion intertwined.

Fun and Games

75 min

Investigation reveals secrets: water schemes, family betrayals, incestuous dynamics. Tension and suspense increase.

Midpoint

90 min

Gittes discovers Evelyn's daughter is also her sister. Moral stakes intensify. Partial victory in uncovering truth.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

100 min

Corrupt powers close in. Gittes threatened. Evelyn in danger. Legal and physical stakes peak.

#11

All Is Lost

110 min

Gittes fails to save Evelyn. Daughter abducted. Complete sense of hopelessness.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

120 min

Gittes reflects on futility of fighting systemic corruption. Realizes limits of personal morality.

#13

Break Into Three

125 min

Gittes attempts final intervention despite odds. Accepts that he may not fully succeed.

#14

Finale

128 min

Tragic confrontation. Evelyn killed, daughter lost. Justice unattainable.

#15

Final Image

130 min

Gittes walks away: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Mirror of opening: bright city with darkness unresolved. Moral ambiguity complete.