10 Film Heroes Who Totally Failed In Their Quest

3. Jake Gittes - Chinatown

The Quest

Investigate the murder of water engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling), and figure out how his death connects to wealthy businessman Noah Cross (John Huston), the father of Hollis' wife Evelyn (Faye Dunaway).

What Happens?

Throughout Roman Polanski's dense film noir, P.I. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) finds himself investigating Cross' suspicious manipulation of water resources, allowing him to acquire dry land at a low price and make an enormous profit once the land is irrigated.

It might not sound like the most compelling subject matter for a hard-boiled thriller, and yet, Gittes' plunge into the black heart of municipal greed couldn't be more gripping.

Why Did He Fail?

Though Gittes comes to learn that Cross was the brainchild behind the land-water scheme, he's ultimately helpless to do much about it.

After discovering that Evelyn was raped by her father and her daughter Katherine (Belinda Palmer) is the product of said rape, he plans to help the pair flee to Mexico, only to get caught short by Cross.

A confrontation ensues in which Evelyn shoots her father and frantically drives away with Katherine, only for the police to open fire, killing Evelyn.

Poor young Katherine is then taken into the custody of her father/grandfather, with the implication being that she's sure to be abused herself, while Jake is basically told to leave it be ("Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown.")

Effectively, capitalism wins, the rapist-fraudster-murderer gets off Scot-free and our intrepid hero simply has to deal with it. Bummer.