FILM: Chinatown (15)
Roman Polanski’s final film made on US soil before he famously fled to Europe to escape the legal repercussions of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl was this slow-burning crime thriller steeped in corruption and betrayal.
Jack Nicholson lights up the screen as arrogant private detective Jake Gittes, who is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Diane Ladd) to catch her philandering husband (Darrell Zwerling).
When the adulterous spouse turns up dead - drowned in a reservoir - Gittes meets the real Mrs Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), who clearly has something to hide.
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Hide AdJake digs deeper and he is lead to Evelyn’s sinister father, Noah Cross (John Huston), a man with a violent past who casts a long shadow over every frame of Polanski’s gritty and violent masterpiece.
Released: January 4 (UK, selected cinemas, 125 mins)