Gittes is stupid and a coward

I tend to think it a bit much to see Gittes as overall a bad person. He is rather a flawed everyman sort, and the whole frame of the film's approach is we see the developments of the film both through his eyes at the same time we are seeing him and making his way through the events (which of course is part of the film's brilliance - that is not an easy thing to do and succeed at).

To say he is a terrible detective belies the fact that what we see of his practice suggests he is successful. He has a staff, and we see some of his satisfied customers (like the Burt Young character) over the course of the film. The police he deals with respect him, at least up to a point. We seem him, successfully, make use of certain tricks of the trade.

In fact while I agree the film's basic theme is about misunderstanding, even as it shades into a kind of counterfeiting element where people intentionally seek to appear other than what they are, it is not some simple case of misunderstanding because the protagonist is a dope. No, what make the film more compelling is we see how Gittes's abilities not only carry him only so far, but even more to the point it is his abilities that seem to draw him into a colossal series and increasing depth of misunderstanding. In a way that someone perhaps less capable would not have been, at least not in such a compelling way.

Now to be clear that does not mean a more observant and intelligent detective might have caught on earlier, and that sort of thing. and perhaps there is an element here implying that Gittes was brought into the case because he was perceived as someone who would follow the leads but also misunderstand the situation and the rest. (An example of that in a much more obvious sense would be The Gauntlet with Clint Eastwood, where a police detective was chosen for a job on the expectation he would fail.) But that would have been a different and probably less compelling film.

Rather what makes this film compelling is how we can identify with Gittes, how he uses his craft, how he thinks he is doing the right thing. But then he begins to understand, perhaps too slowly to be sure, what he is up against, and then tries to catch up as it were. Yet he keeps ending up one step or more behind understanding what is going on as it unfolds.

In this sense the film reminds me of the narrative dynamic at work regarding the character Llewellyn Moss in No Country for Old Men. A flawed but still essentially moral character, using what abilities and understanding he had, coming to realize what he was up against, but always one step or more behind really understanding what he was up against.

So I think it an overstatement to say Gittes was incompetent or stupid or anything of the sort.