Faye Dunaway herself up to her estranged father and a lover. I understood that dilemma well, the conflict between ambition and love, the fear of trusting someone else with your love." The film was a modest success but Dunaway received good notices for her performance. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert noted how she had never topped the work she did in "Bonnie and Clyde", and said that her career had been "rather absentminded" ever since. He praised her performance in "Oklahoma Crude", saying that she played the role with "a great deal of style", while adding, "Perhaps she has
Faye Dunaway wanted Polanski to consider Jane Fonda for the role, arguing that Dunaway had a reputation for temperament, Polanski insisted on using Dunaway. She accepted the challenging and complex role of Mulwray, a shadowy femme fatale who knows more than she is willing to let Detective J.J. Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson) know. Dunaway got along well with Nicholson, describing him later as a "soul mate", but she clashed with Polanski, who had a reputation for being dictatorial and controlling on a set. "Roman was very much an autocrat, always forcing things. It ranged from the physical to the mental. He