Mulholland Falls (1996)

A period detective film for fans of period detective films

I must first confess my undying admiration of the gorgeous Jennifer Connelly. Now, with my bias out of the way, married plainclothes detective Nick Nolte and doomed party girl Connelly have a torrid affair such that it hurts both to break it off. Hard-guy Nolte and his 3 partners are members of the thuggish but sharply-dressed "Hat Squad," who take it upon themselves to rid the city of organized crime figures transplanted from Back East. With the gracious assistance of the "Hat Squad," these organized crime figures have a way of rolling down the side of the canyon off Mulholland Drive, which is their "hint" that they have overstayed their welcome in L.A., and that it is time to leave town. Hence the title. This was obviously before the days of internal affairs divisions and citizen review boards' influence.

Recovering a woman's body found in an open field, Nolte is shocked to discover that Connelly was the victim. Probing deeper, Nolte and his partners determine that Connelly may have been killed for what or whom she knew. Nolte takes it personally. He and his men place themselves in harm's way with the FBI and other well-armed federal agencies. The plainclothes L.A. cops do battle the Feds and, of course, get way in over their heads. Ultimately, no one wins. When you dig deeply enough, no one ever wins.

The upside: this film stars a great ensemble cast--Nolte; Melanie Griffith, his wife; Chazz Palmintieri, Chris Penn, and Michael Madsen, his partners; Connelly; Andrew McCarthy, an effeminate witness; Daniel Baldwin, a smug FBI agent; John Malkovich and Treat Williams. The film looks super, and it recreates 50's L.A. in clear detail, and the dialogue is convincing. Philosophy and psychology are also briefly discussed, which earns it a half-star with me.

The downside: although most scripts made into movies are implausible, the film has difficulty making a believable transition from everyday murder investigation to the scale of atrocity uncovered by the "Hat Squad." This lack of a smooth transition detracts from the credibility of the plotline and the cohesiveness of the film.

The director was obviously influenced by "Chinatown," which is superior viewing, as is "L.A. Confidential," which was released soon afterwards. "Mullholland Falls" is a "Chinatown-lite," although set 15 years or so later.

If you can avoid overly critical comparisons with the best films of this type, you should enjoy it, too. (Adapted from my review of 5/23/00.)

January 22, 2008

Well made film noir

A fine cast led by Nick Nolte recreate early L.A. and L.A.P.D. An elite unit latch on to a murder and take it to the limit; not backing down for a minute against very powerful, sinister forces.
Well worth the investment.
November 29, 2007

Film Noir Classic, LA Mystery of the 1950s

Note: Your helpful votes are appreciated. Thanks.

Nick Nolte is perfect in this movie set in 1950s Los Angeles. It has a well-developed plot that slowly unfolds. A young woman is found dead, having been thrown from an airplane, but the crime is not as simple as it appears. The military is involved in a cover-up on atomic bomb testing.

That's enough. After you see the movie, read a longer review.
"Mulholland Falls" is the kind of mystery you wait months and months to appear. PS: the "falls" doesn't refer to a waterfall.

I also highly recommend "Lantana" (an Australian mystery) and "Mulholland Drive" (set in Hollywood). For your convenience, I inserted these links.

Lantana
Mulholland DriveMulholland Drive
September 19, 2007

In the realm of movies like "Chinatown", it comes very close to being almost as good.

Set in the 1950's, this movie possesses the same elements as the other great "period" pieces, such as "Chinatown", "The Two Jakes", and "LA Confidential". While not as great as "Chinatown", it comes very close to its mark in all the ways that "Chinatown" does (see my review on "Chinatown"). I enjoyed this movie very much due to its similarities with the other movies mentioned and for the totally new story it portrayed, including the dramatic twist of the ending. No, Nick Nolte is not Jack Nicklson, but he certainly holds his own in this extreme account of murder and mayhem in 50's Los Angeles. In fact, with the settings being the same in all four movies, we get a great scenario of Los Angeles from the late 30's to the mid 1950's, making it a grand occasion to watch these four movies together in chronological order! March 17, 2007

1953 L. A. story

The plot summary lists the setting as 1940's Los Angeles but the story is set in 1953. You'll see a once in a lifetime cast here in this one and most of the cast is very good. The story is a little reminiscent of "Chinatown" and some film noir movies of the late 1940's. If you ever had a desire to see Nick Nolte smoke a large number of cigarettes, this is the perfect movie for you. For the rest of us, it's a pretty good story that keeps you intertested to the end. The non-ending brings down the rating a little- 3.5 Stars. January 30, 2007

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