Great Movie, better than Chinatown
I thought this movie was great. It had great characters, a great story, great acting, and great directing. I really think that this movie has more strength than Chinatown.
shareI disagree. The acting is wooden (except for Nicholson), the plot dense and confusing, and the overall story doesn't draw one in the way Chinatown did. Nicholson literally scratches his head as director in trying to find ways to keep the film's momentum going. Its an atmospheric film with good attention to detail and one of the better period pieces of the 90's, but it can't hold a candle to Chinatown.
shareEven though I love this film, I see your point.
- I disagree with you on the acting. Perry Lopez, Harvey Keitel, Frederick Forrest, David Keith, Richard Farnsworth, and the actor who portrayed Tyrone Otley (I can't remember his name) did a great job. However the actress who portrayed Kitty Berman was horrible. So basically everyone was good but her.
- I admit, this is a film you need to watch twice because the story is confusing.
- I enjoyed Nicholson as a directer better than Polanski. I think Nicholson is the type of director who keeps the audience addicted to the film and asking for more. Polanski is still very talented, I just think Nicholson has more strength.
Right..I forgot about Harvey Keitel's performance. I didn't see anything profound about the plot though. In Chinatown, Gittes' discoveries yield that in addition to the local government being politically corrupt (cheating farmers out of their land), they have also become morally corrupt(incest). I didn't see any similar metaphors in the Two Jakes. The Two Jakes, while being a watchable film, has a story, but lacks any real social commentary. It has absolutely nothing to say. In Chinatown, we saw that the building of Los Angeles was seedy right from the get-go, and was founded on the same principles of capitalism. The Two Jakes doesn't seem like it even know what it wants to say.
You make a good point. The performances are very mannered (in 1990, this is worth a lot in its own), however, I don't see this film has having that fundamental beauty that made Chinatown a classic.
You must be crazy. This does not touch Chinatown and never will. I fell bad that Nicholson, Keitel and Stowe were featured in the movie coz they are three of my favourites. I was so bored in this movie I fell asleep. then I watched it again hoping it will get better at the point I fell asleep and I was at the point of blowing my brains apart.
It has absolutely nothing to say.A very ridiculous thing to say about it in my opinion. Yes, the focus is different, it's not about widespread, conspiracy-like corruption in the same way, etc. Instead, it's about things turning out to be very different from initial impressions, from what the surface or appearances suggest, and about human nature re what people will do to protect their loved ones and their own interests.
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I admit, this is a film you need to watch twice because the story is confusing.I agree that it pays off to watch it twice in proximity, but I wouldn't agree (not that you're saying this, but with anyone who would) that it's a flaw. Even moreso on a second viewing, one can realize what a complex work this is--how nuanced everything is, how important every detail is to the whole, but also how much the viewer is required to think about, to analyze everything they're seeing and to an extent, piece it together themselves, just like they're a detective. This doesn't make for light one-time-viewing entertainment, but I think it's a mistake to say that films should only be able to shoot for that, to say that they should only be able to shoot for something where the vast majority of the audience only needs to watch it once to fully understand the film. Moreso than Chinatown, The Two Jakes is "difficult viewing" in some ways, but I do not see that as a flaw.
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>>I disagree. The acting is wooden (except for Nicholson), the plot dense and confusing, and the overall story doesn't draw one in the way Chinatown did. Nicholson literally scratches his head as director in trying to find ways to keep the film's momentum going.
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"Literally"? I don't think so. I didn't see him scratching his head.
I swear, the word "literally" has to be the most incorrectly overused word in the English language.
"Affirmative action is a stain on the American soul." - Charlton Heston