On Sunday 14th June, SOMETHING OF THE NIGHT heads into the scorched heart of Los Angeles; where power hides behind wealth, corruption runs through the foundations of the city, and every answer only leads somewhere worse.

This time we’re screening Chinatown.

A private investigator hired to follow a cheating husband stumbles into a conspiracy far larger and more dangerous than he could have imagined. Water rights, political corruption, buried violence and family secrets intertwine as the truth becomes steadily more impossible to confront.

Jack Nicholson is iconic as Jake Gittes, cool and confident until the ground begins to disappear beneath him. Faye Dunaway gives one of noir’s most tragic performances, caught between wealth, control and unimaginable trauma. And with Roman Polanski, 70s noir becomes something merciless; a world where the closer you get to the truth, the less power you have to change anything.

This is noir stripped of illusion. Bright California sunlight replaces shadow, but the darkness underneath is absolute.

It’s one of the great American films. And by the end, it leaves behind one of noir’s bleakest truths: some systems are built to protect themselves, no matter who gets destroyed along the way.

■ Downstairs at The Ill Repute
■ 8pm Start (no late admittance)
■ Free Entry
■ Drinks and snacks available at the bar upstairs

Something of the Night runs every other Sunday, exploring noir in all its forms from hardboiled classics to modern journeys into shadow.