Why Chinatown's Ending is Brilliant

"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown." That's the famous closing line of the movie, Chinatown. As I watched the ending I felt empty inside. The movie just ends. There is no satisfying resolution. The bad guy wins, the end. The ending is especially disturbing because earlier in the movie you find out the villain raped his daughter. His daughter had a baby as a result. In the end the bad guy steals away the child (possibly planning to rape her) and the daughter he raped is shot as she tries to escape.

As the credits rolled I thought about what I had just seen. Then I realized why the ending was so brilliant. It was because it made me think about the its themes. Chinatown is based around the corruption of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, so some of the characters are based on actual people. The bad guy is based on a real person, however he is fictionalized heavily. Point being that in real life the bad guys won. Why have a happy ending in the movie if the bad guys won in real life?  The sad ending is necessary because it raises awareness.

Corruption from government and corporations happens daily and they win. Most movies have them lose, so in a way it ignores those issues. Almost to say corruption does not exist anymore. However, Chinatown is brutally honest and says in real life the bad guys win. That's why the line, "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown", is so effective. It provokes an emotion out of you. You do not want to forget about it. You care about the two leads and you want them to succeed. You want the bad guy to be punished. However, the movie does not satisfy you with that. Which is why it has the perfect ending.