The Two Jakes **** (1990, Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, Ruben Blades, Frederic Forrest, David Keith, Richard Farnsworth, Tracey Walter) – Classic Movie Review 938

In the third of his trio of movies as director, Jack Nicholson films in 1990 his buddy Robert Towne’s screenplay for their belated sequel to Chinatown (1974). His labyrinthine, complex plot may have audiences scratching their heads. But, so what? Despite a troubled production and bad word of mouth, the movie hasn’t turned out too badly at all, with astounding 40s production designs and another great Nicholson performance.

Having gained weight, Nicholson is again on commanding form as the older L.A. private eye Jake Gittes, this time on the trail of a real-estate scam complicated with adultery. Harvey Keitel gives a riveting performance too as the bad rival Jake, realtor Julius ‘Jake’ Berman, Gittes’s cuckolded client, who shoots his wife’s lover.

A couple of years after World War Two, Berman hires Gittes to prove the infidelity of his wife Kitty (Meg Tilly). Gittes sets up a way for her to be caught in the act but, at the rendezvous, Berman shoots the co-respondent, who turns out to be his business partner. Gittes is in trouble from all sides seeking his wire recording of the fatal encounter. He realises the land the partners were developing was once an orange grove connected with an old case.

The events of Chinatown took place 11 years earlier in 1937. Towne had planned a trilogy chronicling at 11-year intervals the development and decline of southern California because of greedy developers and tycoons. Chinatown was about water rights, The Two Jakes was oil and a third movie, set in 1959, would deal with pollution caused by the building of the freeway system. This was to be called Gittes vs. Gittes, and Jake would get a divorce. But, after The Two Jakes flopped, it never got made.

Thanks to Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography, Richard Schreiber’s art direction and Jerry Wunderlich’s set decoration, The Two Jakes looks stupendous, often quite glorious, immerses us in a convincing re-creation of 1948 Los Angeles. The alluring 40s artefacts and beguiling atmosphere just ooze out of every frame. If it isn’t perfect and doesn’t always sizzle as consistently as you’d hope, nevertheless many of the scenes, confrontations and action sequences are all riveting stuff.

With better pacing, sharper editing and a clearer script, this could have been a classic. As it is it’s hugely entertaining and richly enjoyable.

There’s an impeccable cast from the era: Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, Ruben Blades, Frederic Forrest, David Keith, Richard Farnsworth, Tracey Walter, Joe Mantell, James Hong, Perry Lopez, Rebecca Broussard and Luana Anders, and they couldn’t be better.

It’s a properly grown-up thriller and there are of course some disturbing scenes and strong language.

The New York Times reported on 10 September 1989: “Paramount almost made the picture four years ago with Mr Nicholson, Mr Towne and Robert Evans as financial partners in the venture. Mr Towne was to direct and Mr Evans, the producer of Chinatown in 1974, was to produce and also play the second Jake opposite Mr. Nicholson. But Mr Towne suddenly decided that Mr Evans wasn’t a strong enough actor and tried to drop him from the part. Mr Evans balked. There was a vicious fight between the two. The film fell apart. A million dollars’ worth of sets were torn down, and the lawsuits  commenced. ‘I was the only person who had any money, so the lawsuits went after me’, Mr Nicholson says. ‘It bored me to death. When I work, I don’t just step in and learn my lines. I have to plan a year in advance. And I had to work my schedule around the lawsuits’. It was Mr Nicholson who mended the project, patiently cementing the pieces back together a year ago.”

The film’s final credits give ‘special thanks’ to Faye Dunaway, who voices Evelyn Mulwray, her Chinatown character.

http://derekwinnert.com/chinatown-classic-film-review-24/

Vilmos Zsigmond died on January 1 2016, age 85.  He was known for his use of natural light and vivid use of colour on films like The Long Goodbye (1973) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), for which he won the Oscar for Best Cinematography. He was also nominated for The Deer Hunter (1978), The River (1984) and The Black Dahlia (2006).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 938

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