adonis98-743-186503 A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder. As much as i love and respect Jack Nicholson this movie just didn't do it for me i mean it really did not do it especially the fact that the man has to spend half of the movie with a bandage on his freaking nose and it just didn't work for me i'm really sorry but on the positive side the acting was good and the direction as well but the pacing dragged alot and the storyline was also not that much of an interest to me and definitely not that good. (5/10)

MichaelMRamey The reason I put this film on was because I like crime stories and Jack Nicholson. The film can tend to feel longer than it actually is and drags on. There are some slow parts, but unfortunately they are important to the overall story, so there is no way around then.How ever it's a decent crime noir that will have you wanting to watch the entire thing to discover what is really going on in this whodunnit. Jack Nicholson puts in a good performance and I'd only recommend to fans of crime stories because I don't think a casual film fan would enjoy this.

John Brooks *NO SPOILER YET* In case you're wondering why the incredibly high ratings, bear in mind this is a Polanski (all the cinema lovers, "intellectuals" and critics' favorite) starring now classic Jack Nicholson in a typical film noir that takes itself so very seriously it's almost telling you you have to love it or else you're not a true cinema purist.To be honest, Nicholson as the other actors put in a good performance. Dunaway is alright but not nearly brilliant, but anyways the point is even incredibly talented actors couldn't make mediocrity into greatness. The script is fine if you're a fanatic of crime films, but if you just so happen not to be particularly this is the slowest 2hrs10min you've seen in a long time. In a long time. The pacing is S-L-O-W, you couldn't quite call this piece exactly "stimulating". The very plot is completely ordinary - big powerful bad guy covers up his horrible crimes and wants more money more power, complicated story about L.A.'s water and who owns it (wow no fascinating) - and has no edge to it whatsoever for the genre. What is considered "superb structure" can just as easily feel like a ton of events that pile up and further sinks the film into a delirium of enduring boredom where instead of being uneventful, it is full of stuff happening, but all of which are dull and typical.What's more, there's nothing else about the film that helps lift the bland quality of the whole: dialog has no particular wit and also subscribes to the typical formula, the humor is corny, there's no real moral or actual greater point, the emotional dimension is fake and cold, the cinematography is flat and linear, and there isn't even that big old ending at the end that could've perhaps given legitimacy to the darn thing.*SPOILER* - the Dunaway mother/sister thing is ridiculous and unnecessary and brings no strength to the plot, the fact she dies in the end right in front of that poor traumatized kid is senseless and also with no worth, how it's strongly implied the grandfather wants to sexually abuse her too and grabs her and takes her away is just insanely unnecessary and anti-climactic. And the clues towards the end are technically ridiculous: so of all places he drowns the guy in his pool in his backyard (conveniently the only place with salt water in the whole entire perimeter), of course drops his glasses in there and in order to read that paper at the end he pulls out and wears the exact same pair...Lots of flaws there. You can like it and all, but the flaws are certainly there.

Marc Israel So this film is not recommended? Not so fast! When noir is mixed with other genres, it is the noir that music be in the forefront, for my entertainment value. If not we have a murder mystery detective film with a dash of old school homage. The story here is both predictable as it is suspenseful and without the big screen presence of jack Nicholson may have not been anything more of a Roman Polanski diversion. The Los Angeles story is a great one to build around, but the "you don't know who you're messing around with" angle has been further exonerated from ingratiating gangster or back story horror plots decades ago and was left with a lack of follow through here. John Huston' villain carried as much weight as Marlon Brandro did in his later years. Big name, hot hair. Faye Dunaway is lost in this role after owning her strong role in Bonnie and Clyde and Network. Possibly my expectations outlived the replay.