Director: Jack Nicholson
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeline Stowe
Have I Seen it Before: Never. It’s always been sort of a random fascination for me, given that it was the essentially forgotten sequel to Chinatown (1974), but it’s always managed to remain elusive, what with it being uncelebrated and never appearing on a streaming service. To my knowledge, I had never even laid hands on a DVD copy of it until recently, and with that morbid curiosity taking thrall, I had to have it.
Did I Like It: I don’t think I’d get a lot of pushback when I put Jack Nicholson as one of the greatest movie stars of all time. Many may not believe that my judgment there isn’t exclusively tied to Batman (1989), but I assure you it is not.
He’s not much of a director. It’s not his fault. Throughout his career, he did his level-headed best to not take the task on all that much. This ilm only came about because by all indications this film should have languished in development hell before ceasing to exist, like the third in the Gittes trilogy did after this film was received with a collective shrug.
Nicholson’s performance is fine here, but I can’t help but feel he’s distracted. Although, to be fair, I wonder whether I would think that if I didn’t know he also directed. The screenplay from Robert Towne is constructed with the same level of craft he brought to all of his scripts, and which made Chinatown one of the most celebrated—and studied—examples of the form. The direction, however, is merely competent. There is nothing wrong, but there is no artistry, mainly because Jack was the last man left to direct it, not because he had a burning desire to do so.
Curiosity sated. Would I recommend you watch the movie yourself? Only if you must, which I did.