Word: berman
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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Gittes' haunting memories are revived while working on a case for the film's other Jake, real estate developer Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel). Gittes is hired to procure evidence to prove that Berman's wife, Kitty (Meg Tilly) is having an affair. Gittes taps a motel room and arranges to have Berman confront his wife in bed with her lover...
...just as in Chinatown, nothing is as straightforward as it seems. When Berman arrives, he immediately shoots and kills Kitty's lover, who turns out to be his business partner. Gittes is promplty sued by Berman's partner's wife, Mrs. Bodine (Madeline Stowe), who claims that he was negligent in allowing her husband to be killed. Attempting to exonerate himself, Gittes analyzes the wiretap he made and is amazed to hear the name Katherine Mulwray mentioned...
...sometimes the biggest clues are the ones that were right on front of your face all along. The Two Jakes dervies its power from Gittes' introspection. He comes closer to finding the solution to the case--and his own peace as well--when he is able to peer inside Berman and find himself. This film is not called The Two Jakes for nothing; Gittes and Berman share more than the same nickname...
...second to none, and The Two Jakes, with good reason, draws heavily upon it. The rest of the cast, particularly Stowe and Keitel, perform well under Nicholson's strong direction. The only performance that may appear a bit off center is Tilly's, but considering the cirumstances of Kitty Berman's life, it might be expected...
...Shelley Berman, who broke through to mainstream success, was in awe of Mike , Nichols and enamored of Elaine May. Nichols, a struggling Method actor from New York City, found his metier in improvised comedy and a partner, a lover and a nemesis in May. Everyone at the Compass played for laughs, but of all the hothouse talent there, only Nichols, May and a few others turned out to be playing for keeps. The Compass foundered in conflicting ideologies and ended in a welter of mangled egos and bad feelings. But it pointed the way to a kind of comedic theater...