Monday, May 10, 2010

Best Actress 1974: Faye Dunaway in Chinatown



Faye Dunaway received her third Oscar nomination for playing Evelyn Mullwray in Chinatown. Evelyn's husband is killed and she hires Joe Gillis (Jack Nicholson) to find out who's behind it and why. But Evelyn is hiding something very dark that is the key to the whole situation and results in terrible consequences. Chinatown is a great film and Faye Dunaway is fabulous in it. She creates a very layered , fascinating character and she adds a lot to the film. When we find out who Evelyn really is and what her real intentions are, Faye is simply brilliant, showing Evelyn's sadness and her determination to get out of her situation. In the famous scene "She my sister, my daughter, She's my sister and my daughter!", Faye plays it flawlessly and she Nicholson play each other off superbly. And she really nails her last scene and it's so heartbreaking (Spoiler alert!) what happens to Evelyn at the end. So, a fantastic performance that shows how much talent Faye Dunaway has, which gets

1 comment:

Andrew K. said...

I agree with your rating. Faye is excellent but something just feels slightly off (though I'd give her a five if pushed). It's probably more the film than her though, she is such a dedicated actress.