Crime Films Most crime films have similar elements that you expect when watching a film in the crime genre; such as murder, betrayal, corruption and violence; however, one thing that differs from one crime film to another is the element of surprise. That is, when a film strikes the audience with something unexpected in the plot. “Chinatown” completely fulfilled this element by shocking its audience with a twist in the plot and an ending that is not usually expected from crime films. "Chinatown" is a film about a detective, JJ Gittes, who is hired to follow a man, Hollis Mulwray. , who is allegedly cheating on his wife, Evelyn Mulwray. Shortly after JJ Gittes disappears, Hollis Mulwray disappears and we later find out that he was murdered. His wife Evelyn Mulwray comes under suspicion due to rumors of her husband's cheating, but we soon discover that she is not guilty of his murder. JJ Gittes is determined to uncover the truth despite being discouraged from finding out what really happened to Hollis Mulwray. He then gets help from Evelyn Mulwray and as the story develops, they seem to develop a romantic relationship. However, the romantic relationship ends because she continues to keep secrets from him. We later find out that the woman Hollis Mulwray was accused of having an affair with is Evelyn Mulwray's daughter. She kept her daughter a secret to protect her from Noah Cross, Evelyn's father, who is also her daughter's father. Noah Cross sexually assaulted Evelyn when she was fifteen, so she kept her daughter away from him because she was afraid he might do the same thing to her. Each…half of the card…has the ability to shock me as an audience member. In most crime films the good guy wins and the bad guy loses. However, in "Chinatown" the bad guy, Noah Cross, gets away with murder and takes his daughter/granddaughter away from her mother, and the good guy, JJ Gittis, loses his love interest and feels defeated, even if he solved the case because Noah Cross's power will allow him to get away with all the evil he has done. I liked that the ending of the film shocked me by doing something you don't normally expect in crime films. Even though I would have preferred an ending where Evelyn would have run away with her daughter and Noah accused of murder, but I still liked the ending even though it's the exact opposite of what I would have preferred because it gave me something I wasn't expecting..