A Character study on J.J Gitte’s
After watching Chinatown last night I knew I had to see it again. This is an elegant and classy film. An homage to an era of film making so long gone, only a buff would know this was considered an homage at the time of its release. I think this film holds its own against the Maltese falcon (made 30+ years earlier,) and for my tastes, is far more compelling. But the true reason I knew the had film to be re-watched was thanks to the performances of our two leads, Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. The two are polar opposites in the way their characters express emotions. Nicholson's character ‘Gitte’s’ keeps a tight lid on his inner monologue, whilst Dunaway as Evelyn allows a range of many conflicting emotions to compete at once. You can unpack their line delivery, facial expressions and tone, and continue to discover new meaning - especially on the second viewing once the true plot is known and the mystery gone. So, as a study for character development for my own work, I re-watched the film under the pretence of un-packing the enigma of Gitte’s character. Whilst Dunaway's take on ‘Evelyn’ is also deserving of dissection, her motivations become crystal clear on the second viewing - whilst Gitte's remain shrouded.
Jake J.J Gitte’s is a fascinating character. What compels Jake to act in the strange and confident manner that he does. What outer self has he constructed to interact with the world, and what events created it?
Jake Gitte’s is a very self constructed creature, we only rarely peer behind the veneer (although I suspect this veneer is thicker than a single coat.) It’s clear from Gitte’s general interactions with the world in the way he holds himself, that if he were at any time in any room, he would be the smartest guy in that room. That even when he doesn’t know the answers, he’d fill the space in any interaction or dynamic, as if he were the person who had those answers. Thus he forces the other person in any dynamic to play the role of catchup, even when they are in-fact ahead, Gitte’s retains control.
Gitte’s interacts with the world as if he was always one step ahead, and the only person who’d know he wasn’t, was himself. If you held a gun to Gitte’s head, I imagine an internal dialogue plays out something like the following; “If they’re gonna shoot me they’re gonna shot me, but I’ll be pretty peeved to die at the hands of a worthless, brainless gun for hire.” Gitte’s seems like someone who’s always in control until that control is taken from him, then he submits himself to the mercy of the outcome and accepts there’s little to be done about the predicament. This isn’t to say he isn’t fearful or plotting, he does feel fear - but only when its absolutely clear the worst outcome is already in motion. Then if forced at the final moment, he acts. Decisively and without a semblance of caution.
Gitte’s has no patience or time for unintelligence. Minor obstructions to his goal make him angry enough to snap or get snarky, a peer behind the veneer. He doesn’t have time for someone wasting his time. He’s a confident man in a cynical world, he knows the playbook well and seen it all before. It takes a bit to surprise Gitte’s, to shake him. He’s always thinking, but he’s capable of being conscious of when he’s over-thinking and shrugs the thought off. For all his qualities there is a bedrock of compassion beneath him. But compassion has served him poorly before.
In personal matters and the carrying out of his business, he doesn’t concern himself with ethical dilemmas. Because they aren’t dilemmas, they’re minor inconveniences to Gitte’s. He knows theres no rule too hard that can’t be bent or broken, especially when he’s always one step ahead. But in dealing with his clients - there is a solid morality. You don’t screw over the people who pay you, you treat them with dignity. This is a guy who’s justified to himself that his line of work is above the board, more than a greaseball who handles dirty laundry. He conducts business with clients ethically, never charges a dollar more than originally quoted. At any rate he’s convinced himself that his line of work is legitimate, or at least perhaps fulfilling. He had to get out of the police force, best use his skills for something else, no point wasting them. Perhaps he believes he can get more done outside of the system? More likely, he knows the system is rigged against the majority, and in his indignant indifference now lives to make a little press here and there, make a nice pay-check for fine suits and best case scenario; find himself intellectually challenged. The system is the system, you can't break a broken horse.
Theres an element of contempt for the police force he once served, he ridicules the Lieutenant for his ‘little gold bar.’ He sees rank and hierarchy as a waste of time, an all-too-often all-too-familiar impedance to justice. In the end of course his hubris has its day. Gitte’s allows himself to fall, as he did once before in Chinatown, for a woman. A woman central to the case he’s working on. He believes this time he can do it differently and protect the woman he's fallen for. (Or perhaps he he never truly fell for her. Maybe he saw the parallel in the situation and sought his own redemption in saving Evelyn.) In the end of course, he can’t. Why? “Because this is China Town.”
“Chinatown” the phrase, more than the place, is Symbolic of American greed and corruption. The power of wealth and the insignificance of people who die in the wake of this power. He left the force because the system failed and he saw how it failed in Chinatown. The real criminals got away. The ending confirms a sad reality, he’s lost the woman again and the bad guys wins, again. They win because there is no Chinatown, there is only America.
I’ll say it again; Gitte’s is the kind of man who believes he’s always one step ahead of anyone else. Even when he isn’t, he interacts with the world as if he already knows the outcome. This was proven true once more by the confirmation of his cynical world view. To be ahead of the game, is to know it’s already lost. I imagine a Gitte’s heartbroken, but some weeks later returning to work as if the whole affair never happened. He takes a mental note before opening the door to his next client, smiles, ‘don’t fall in love again.’ This is Chinatown.