The Modern Film Noir, Chinatown

The modern film noir thriller Chinatown is similar to many film noir detective films in which the police are corrupt, bought off by the "big fish" in town. The "big fish" in town in Chinatown is Noah Cross, an evil, wealthy individual who is trying to make a fortune by enriching land in the San Fernando Valley through a water diversion scheme. As Cross tells a detective, Jake Gittes, always one step behind him, "You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't" (Polanski 1974). The wealthy, behind-the-scenes capitalist who owns the police and corrupts entire cities for his own gain, Cross represents the "big fish" in the pond of Chinatown. The film's storyline revolves around water, and the motif of a "big fish", in this case Albacore Tuna, is used to highlight the fact that Cross is the biggest and most profitable fish in Chinatown.

Our first encounter with the Albacore (i.e. fish) motif used throughout the film occurs early on, when Gittes shows distraught fisherman Curly pictures of his faithless wife. On his way out the door, the distraught Curly tries to tell Jake he will pay his fees next week, after catching more profitable Albacore tuna. Like the flowing water being diverted, corruption flows deep in Chinatown. As Gittes begins investigating an alleged affair involving the Los Angeles water engineer, layer after layer of corruption surfaces. The rape of the land and water by Cross and his wealthy capitali

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