Chinatown and use of narrative

“Chinatown” has one of the most cliché thriller narratives ever. A tale of deceit, lies and corruption, the film stars J.J. Gittes, a private detective with a short temper and sharp tongue. The story is narrated mainly from his point of view- there are no scenes not featuring him as the lead, so we receive only one perspective on the story, helping us to feel his emotions far more than anybody else's. This is the same technique used in the classic detective novels by Raymond Chandler, featuring his hard-boiled, wisecracking detective, Philip Marlowe, who was the narrator in ever scene too. This has a major impact on the narrative, as his personality greatly affects the storyline. As a person, he is very serious and dedicated about his job, and as an ex-cop, still hates crime. Although he keeps up the “Tough guy” bravado as much as possible, there are scenes deliberately designed to make him seem weak underneath, such as when we see him snuggled up in bed, very defenceless. It it because of this refusal to give up and clever detective techniques (using his watch to find out when the car was moved) that the story is able to progress as it does. Gittes isn't the only character who has a major impact on the narrative though, as the female lead and femme fatale, Ms Mulwray, a seductive, dangerous woman with a dark past, is the character with contact to all the main characters in the film, which makes her a key player in the plot. She too, is made to seem very one-dimensional and hard on the surface, but we soon see her as a far weaker, defenceless character with a very troubled past. This in itself is a major twist in the plot, as from a character that we first assume is going to be trouble, (our first view of her is a very strict, confident woman, mixed with the “femme fatale” label) that she is revealed to be a very selfless, caring individual is a large plot development, which helps us, as the audience to warm to her, which is why the ending comes as such a crushing blow. How the audience sees things is a vital part of any narrative. Although Gittes isn't the nicest or most honest guy, he does what is best, and does it well, so we instantly strike up a lot of respect for the character.
A very common trait of the thriller genre is to take the basic “beginning, middle, end”, and twist it in new and interesting ways. For example, this is done in the film “Memento”, by reversing the story, starting at the end and ending at the beginning, or in “The Butterfly Effect”, where the entire plot flits between different timeliness and dimensions, adding a great deal of depth. However, “Chinatown” changes this pattern by complicating the storyline, taking us down different routes with the use of red herrings and twists. For example, the story begins when Gittes gets a request to spy on a woman's husband. After this, it is made clear that the woman was not his husband after all. Where does the intro end in this? You could claim that the story begins when he is hired to track down Mr. Mulwray's killer, as this is when the real plot begins, but then you skip out some major parts of the story. The problem with narrowing the plot down to “beginning, middle, end” is that the plot twists madly with every new revelation, so the whole story could be described as a twisting line, snaking from side to side, and sometimes even back on itself. Although the film ends, the film is never concluded on a perfect cadence, as the plot is left deliberately unfinished. What happens to Kathrine? Does Cross ever try to silence Gittes? Does Gittes ever try to get revenge on Cross? The film never even wraps up the water scandal, a part of the plot which gets left behind when peoples lives start to be at risk. For any media, to end on a negative note is very unusual, especially such an clear one.
One of the major themes that drives the plot forwards, is the darkness in the hearts of each of the characters- there are no major characters in the film that are completely innocent of anything, even the dubious, illegal methods of the protagonist. The only character to show all the characteristics of good are the two who get killed or kidnapped, namely Hollis Mulwray and Kathrine, which tells us that the narrative of the film is very negative and dark, which it is, as shown by the ending. Kathrine doesn't appear until quite late in the film either, so at the beginning, that Hollis is killed off so fast tells us that there is no room for good in the story at all.
I think narrative is a vital part of any thriller. Plot twists, red herrings and cliffhangers are all essential, almost defining the genre. It adds depth to a plot, and makes it very exiting, which is the very definition of the word “thrill”. “Chinatown” wouldn't be the film it is without those features. Although this is debatable, this film would be far worse without them. The twists and red herrings are parts of the plot, and without them, the story becomes far simpler and therefore far more dull. The same can be said for the other thriller signifiers. Without the flawed hero protagonist character, we are left with a very simple, (although possibly more likeable) main character. In the end, if we took out all these things, we are left with a very dull and unimaginative storyline. The genre would no longer be a thriller, it could either be a very simple and boring detective story, or an action film, but the film lacks a lot of action, so either way, we are left with a shell of a film. This leads me to conclude that narrative is an incredibly important part of any film; in fact, it is barely a film without it. All the choices made have a butterfly effect on the story: the way we view the characters, the way we view the surroundings, the way we view the very film itself.