Chinatown: What did Jake Gittes whisper at the end of the film?

[@mistertheory]

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[@ackamack101]

‘As little as possible,’is what Gittes mumbles.

[@JesusChristMarie]

I love that Escobar gets kind’ve triggered when Jake mutters “As little as possible”. Jake’s comment is a sarcastic, dour summation of the situation, where once again, the powerful get away with the immense suffering they have caused. It’s why he left the police force. Escobar was Jake’s partner, and likely witnessed the same stuff Jake did, only instead of leaving the police, Escobar sort’ve numbed himself to the fact that he wasn’t actually carrying out justice to those who deserved it. He kept his mouth shut, and climbed the ranks, but his angry response to what Jake mutters shows that he is still disillusioned about the limited effect the police have, and Jake's comment pokes at Escobar's buried morality that he has come to try and ignore. It's such a subtle moment that manages to tell us so much about the character, the background, and the theme in a brief interaction. Just like Jake, he's seen this entire situation play out before. The film ends with Jake and Escobar doing exactly what they both ended up doing before the film: Jake walks away from the whole corrupt situation, dismissing it all, while Escobar swallows his conscience and cleans up the crime seen, ignoring Cross as he gets away with everything.

[@TayDays1128]

great analysis

[@BushyHairedStranger]

Jake feels responsible for her death & for what seems to be an endless wave of unstoppable deceit & corruption by the all powerful oligarch Cross. “As little as possible” becomes an evil spell in China Town..& no ones gets out unscathed….

[@cv507]

itz eärrey to think that the mastermind? our ´mysögünnisthikkc?? anti?herö-inn? used a ´Fäyke knife but he mirröhrce reel events. : ? brilljänt... nez pähh?? like ´misögynnistzs kubrick n cärp?.. the itches fööL€D me olso but häl thats cläss... but ´tödäyz mövies are stvpit dreck ´4 8 year ölds xxP

[@ginacantabene8629]

He whispered (more like muttered) “as little as possible” which is what he told Evelyn earlier in the movie that he used to do when he worked for the district attorney in Chinatown.

[@damascus21]

One of my favorite movies ever

[@jacobjones5269]

“As little as possible”.. And Lou knew exactly what he meant, too, which explains Lou’s reaction.. It may be the most helpless moment in all of cinema..

[@porflepopnecker4376]

"Forget it, Jake. It's Tiny Town."

[@AEW86]

"Forget it, Jake. It's LazyTown."

[@glendarjj3991]

Forget it, Jake. It's funky town

[@Losrandir]

Forget it, Jake. Listen to Crazy Town - Butterfly.

[@Fluware]

@@glendarjj3991 *PTSD Triggers

[@jonq75]

Wow, thank you! Probably my favorite movie and I could never catch what he said.

[@redfordreddington8834]

Good movie. Sad ending.

[@frankabler]

"Forget it, Jake. The woman that you just fell in love with was murdered. Ho hum, it's Chinatown, can't be helped."

[@laurentprevot3281]

Chinatown is metaphorically a kind of society where it's very difficult to know who did what. When some powerfull people live in this opacity, they could afford to do everything they want.

[@buddhull]

Chinatown is here

[@lewis_scott]

He mutters "As little as possible". at the end. He said to Evelyn that he used to do "as little as possible" when he worked for the district attorney in Chinatown. He may be overcompensating and now he doesn't know when to stop. He goes from one extreme to the other and that's why he said it. It also sounds like he may've indirectly caused the death of a women in both cases.

[@romanclay1913]

Polanski: ROSEMARY'S BABY, KNIFE IN THE WATER, REPULSION, THE PIANIST

[@Losrandir]

No happy family romcom there

[@darthkek1953]

The two sequels are worth watching too. Not "as good" as this classic, but better than Godfather 3.

[@redaidrissi3236]

The Godfather 3 is way better than we think. Sure it doesn’t come any close to the first and second part, but I think it’s quite underrated and « disliked » just because it’s not as good as the first two ones

[@RatchetandSly]

There's only one sequel, called "The Two Jakes". The 3rd film was canceled because the 2nd film bombed at the box office. I agree, though, it's a solid film. Not as a good as Chinatown and I thought Gittes' inner-monologue narration, while a staple of film noir, was unnecessary.

[@darthkek1953]

@@RatchetandSly I made a mistake. Anyway I saw the 2 Jakes last week and liked it. I think I started to watch it a few years ago and stopped which made me think there were 3 films.

[@tonypellock5326]

@@RatchetandSly true. I think the basis of the 3rd was used for who framed roger rabbit.

[@BushyHairedStranger]

That statement “as little as possible” is what haunted Jake & now lying dead before him is the cruel manifest reality of that very spell! The woman he loved dies by the corrupt hands of what he was trying to stop,..he to is responsible to her Death & for the continuation of evil by Noah Cross. China Town is one of the best Films ever created. Few films match this caliber of beauty in film making.

[@Johnconno]

'Nicholson was commenting on Hollywood and his career when he muttered 'As much as possible.'

[@skyecooleyartwork]

"Forget it, Jake. It's Tiny Tim."

[@JK-ks3xq]

Great movie!

[@plasticweapon]

he didn't whisper.

[@frankabler]

it was a mumble, not a whisper.

[@JohnCane147]

He actually says "No fat chicks"

[@gorky1986]

I think " as little as possible " refers to child abuse .. maybe " as young as possible"

[@Fluware]

lmao

[@nightcorecoach3204]

what movie ?

[@dandavis8300]

Sick disturbing movie, very well done. Postmodern deconstruction of the Raymond Chandler hero. It's a good thing Polanski had to leave the country.

[@GigaChadh976]

It’s just a damn shame he isn’t rotting in a prison cell

[@dandavis8300]

@@GigaChadh976 --Yeah, they say was a monster toward Sharon Tate and accusers as young as 10, but seems the criminal overworld is even more powerful in France than in the US.

[@mikeziccardi7497]

His gretest role!

[@theLeftHandedDog]

I don't think Gittes and Escobar "worked together" in Chinatown. I think they worked at the same time - Gittes as a private eye and Escobar probably still just a cop, not yet having "made lieutenant." My impression is that cops and private eyes rarely work together. They sure as hell aren't working together here, to solve Mulray's death.

[@frankabler]

They were both police officers in Chinatown. Don't know if they were partners or not.

[@CsuarezFla]

Jake even says he was a cop in the movie.

[@jacobjones5269]

It’s a little confusing, because Jake said earlier in the film he worked for the “District Attorney “ in Chinatown.. That could mean he was a police officer, or an investigator exclusively for the DA.. But those guys are all former cops, so they knew each other for sure..