Have you ever seen the movie Chinatown? It's a good one, even considered a classic by many film scholars and critics. The 1974 half-film-noir, half-psychological-drama stars Jack Nicholson as Jake, a private investigator who gets tangled up in a web of deceit and corruption. That corruption is synonymous with L.A.'s Chinatown, to which Jake was previously assigned as an investigator.

Spoiler alert: Jake doesn't end up saving the day in this film. Corruption wins out against good and, as the bad guys drive off into the night, Jake's partner utters the famous last words of the film, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

I bring this movie up because the point of the film -- or at least the point I got from it -- is that there are instances in our world where corruption and ill-will are too powerful to bring to justice. Sometimes people who break the law and purposely do wrong are allowed to live freely without consequence, much like the antagonist in Chinatown.

And for the past 32 years, Chinatown's director, Roman Polanski, has been living free of legal consequence for the crime he committed in 1977: unlawful sexual conduct with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles.

After being arrested in the United States and attending a psychiatric evaluation, Polanski fled the States for France, where he was born. There's been a warrant for his arrest ever since, and the filmmaker has gone to great lengths to avoid not only U.S. soil, but any other countries where he could possibly be extradited.

In that time, except for the Hollywood-hating right, no one really viewed Polanski as a rapist who made great films, but more as an esteemed filmmaker who had a past run-in with the law. He was even honored at the Oscars for Best Directing with his 2002 film, The Pianist, without objection.

But merely two weeks ago on Sept. 26, Polanski was finally arrested in Poland. He was on his way to Switzerland to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at a film festival.

What a fitting time for him to be arrested.

Any sane person can see that justice has finally prevailed. Though his talent as a filmmaker is undeniable, this does not excuse him from facing repercussions for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Unfortunately, some Hollywood folk believe it does.

According to UK paper The Observer, since Polanski's arrest, he has found supporters who are actually defending him and saying his arrest is a "terrible situation" and that the Swiss were involved in a "Philistine collusion."

Whoopi Goldberg commented on the situation by saying, "I don't think it was 'rape'-rape."

"Rape"-rape? Really?

Who are these people and what fantasy land are they living on? What's worse than those remarks is that other notable members of the "Hollywood elite" are rallying support for Polanski by bringing up his achievements in filmmaking, as if this somehow excuses him from the fact that he had sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Michael Vick was a great quarterback, but that didn't save him from serving jail time.

Mel Gibson made Braveheart, but you sure as hell didn't see any supporters with blue and white makeup on when he was arrested for drunk driving.

Good work and talent does not nullify despicable crime. Never has and it never will. Period.

I've noticed that many media outlets -- and I'd hope most Americans -- side with this opinion. Even the most liberal of liberal rags, The New York Times, supports Polanski's arrest.

It's encouraging to know that, regardless of the American public's squabbles when it comes to national issues, most of us seem smart enough to see injustice when it's presented right in front of us.

I can only hope Polanski experiences this revelation himself, if he hasn't already. After all, this isn't Chinatown, this is America. Justice must be served.