Chinatown

A private detective, Jake Gittes, hired to investigate an adultery case, stumbles on the plot of a murder involving incest and the privatisation of water through state and municipal corruption, land use and real estate. If he doesn’t drop the case at once he faces threats of legal action, but he pursues it anyway, slowly uncovering a vast conspiracy. As bruised and cynical as the decade that produced it, this noir classic benefits from Robert Towne’s brilliant screenplay, director Roman Polanski’s steady hand, and wonderful performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.