Most critics are strongly enthusiastic about Chinatown, praising its detective story as a disturbing account of corruption and power. Robert Towne’s screenplay draws repeated praise for its organisation and political implications, while Jack Nicholson’s performance is a particular point of agreement, with Faye Dunaway and John Huston also receiving strong notices. The reviews admire Roman Polanski’s controlled direction, especially the way he makes the Los Angeles setting inviting without softening the cruelty beneath it.
There is little shared complaint; the differences mostly concern how highly to rank the film’s achievements. The New York Times offers a clear dissent, finding it stylish and well acted but short of the wit and entertainment of earlier detective films such as The Maltese Falcon. Elsewhere, critics treat the intricate plotting and pervasive disillusionment as strengths, stressing how the film unsettles the familiar pleasures of a private-eye mystery.