Retro Film Review: Mulholland Falls (1996)
What a difference a year can make. In 1997 L.A. Confidential, thriller about crime, depravity and corruption in 1950s Hollywood, turned out to be one of the most successful films of the decade. A year earlier, Mulholland Falls, period thriller directed by New Zealand's film maker Lee Tamahori, covered the exactly same territory and quickly sank to oblivion.
The protagonists of the film were loosely based on the real life story of the "Hat Squad". In late 1940s and early 1950 Los Angeles experienced great economic boom and the new wealth began attracting organised crime. LAPD Lieutenant Max Hoover (played by Nick Nolte) had been given a special assignment by his chief (played Bruce Dern) - to prevent mobsters from taking hold in Los Angeles, even if it means breaking laws together with his people' bones. After few years Hoover and his three war comrades, known as "Hat Squad" built such reputation that even the toughest and meanest criminals in the country thought twice before crossing their paths. But a mysterious case of murder would put "Hat Squad" to the real test - beautiful prostitute Allison Pond (played by Jennifer Connelly) is found murdered and "Hat Squad" must investigate. This case is a nightmare for Hoover, because he knew Pond before and even had extramarital affair with her. But the real problems begin when it turns out that Pond had all of her clients secretly filmed and later blackmailed, and that some of those clients had connections with all- powerful Atomic Energy Commission and other branches of US government.
Mulholland Falls was directed by one incredibly talented filmmaker. Its budget provided lush costumes, production design and all other details that brought back one fascinating era of American history. And its cast was made of superb characters actors, many of them icons of 1990s American cinema. And despite all of this (and despite the fact that Jennifer Connelly did nude scene) Mulholland Falls is hardly remembered today. Reason could be found in incredibly weak script by Peter Dexter. Generic government conspiracy script didn't mix well with Chandleresque murder mystery, and attempt to humanise tough and violent protagonists with marital problems and "hip" banter wasn't successful. Weakness of the script was such that Tamahori's directorial talent wasn't visible on the screen. One-dimensionality of characters suffocated acting talent - Chazz Palminteri is simply terrible in his role of "Hat Squad's" comic relief, and Melanie Griffith sleepwalks through her generic role of cop's wife. Because of that, Mulholland Falls represents nothing more than a major waste of talents.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on February 13th 2003)
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