Chinatown review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't." So it goes in this classic '70s collision between Roman Polanski and writer Robert Towne, who grind a bitter, subversive gumshoe heel into '40s noir.

It begins jovially, as dirt-digging 'tec Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) uncovers a water-rights scandal. But he soon topples through layers of deception and corruption into ever-deepening rivers of moral sickness. John Huston and Faye Dunaway provide unforgettable support, but this is Nicholson's show: a doomed spectator stumbling helplessly into the parched, black soul of this LA mystery. Sometimes darkness can dazzle.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.