The Two Jakes

This sequel to CHINATOWN opens in the postwar boom of 1948 as developers rapaciously exploit the natural resources of Southern California. With his small, dingy practice expanded into a thriving operation, Private Investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is now a card-carrying member of the bourgeoisie and engaged to be married. He still does a divorce case occasionally, however, and it is just such a case that draws Gittes into a complicated web of intrigue and corruption involving the mysterious daughter of the dead Evelyn Mulwray. When the husband of an adulterous wife (whom Gittes is investigating) murders his wife's lover, it first appears to be a simple crime of passion. But as the case unfolds, it turns out that the victim was actually the husband's real-estate partner, and the murder may have been committed in order to gain control of a lucrative property development. In his effort to solve the mystery, Jake is forced to reexamine the painful events of his past--specifically, his love affair with Evelyn Mulwray. (official distributor synopsis)