United States

This sinister son of film noir is one of the most meticulously crafted Hollywood films in recent years. Everyone involved collaborated to re-create for contemporary tastes this disillusioned vision of seedy sunkissed, pre-war California. Kinks complicate mystery, lies compound complexity, and passion clouds detection as what begins as a seemingly routine matrimonial snoop job mushrooms into a murderous regional and personal scandal. Chinatown was tapped for ten Academy Award nominations.