Mulholland Falls (1996): Dir: Lee Tamahori / Cast: Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Connelly, Chazz Palminteri, John Malkovich: This is a portrait of 1950's crime noir in a place where bodies are discovered and answers are sought. Nick Nolte plays detective Max Hoover who arrives at the bottom of an embankment where the body of a woman is found. Max recognizes her and immediately goes under denial mode as he struggles to find out who murdered her while keeping his relationship with her out of the public. His wife, Katherine is played by Melanie Griffith and she is frustrated with his lack of involvement until the truth surfaces. This leads to a conclusion that seems rather sudden and unresolved. The murder victim is played by the beautiful Jennifer Connelly and she is featured only in black and white flashbacks in all smiles engaging in sexual activity. Chazz Palminteri plays Max's loyal partner whose advice is often ignored but he steps up when his partner is in need of assistance. John Malkovich plays an ill General with a past with Connelly. Michael Madsen and Chris Penn play two of Hoover's men but their contribution is a total waste. Director Lee Tamahori attempts to capture the noir films of the 1940's but cannot rescue the screenplay from its corny delivery. It is a well crafted action caper that doesn't ask much other than to enjoy the view on the way down. Score: 6 ½ / 10

"Mulholland Falls" (1996) is not a bad film. The performances are more than adequate, the attention to period detail and the cinematography is breathtaking at times. The problem lies with the screenplay, and the editing (it seems that MGM saw fit to trim the original cut of the film down to a more acceptable running time), leaving much to be desired with character development (or lack thereof) and plot holes.The opening sequence is pure noir, or neo-noir as the genre that it falls into. "The Hat Squad" in which Max Hoover (Nick Nolte) is the leader is both comical and interesting. Unfortunately, the other characters (Chazz Palminteri, and particularly Michael Madsen and Chris Penn) are give little to do by comparison. And although Jennifer Connelly is featured prominently in the trailer and on the DVD cover, she also has very little do but look gorgeous and sexy (which she does very well) in a series of all too brief flashbacks and 8mm footage. Melanie Griffith, as Hoover's wronged wife, makes the most of her limited screen time but again, the film could have benefited from seeing more of her (and I say this as someone who is not particularly a fan, but she is extremely sympathetic and likable here). Andrew McCarthy gets the thankless role as the friend of Allison Pond (Connelly) who knows too much. John Malkovich seems to think he's in another movie, Treat Williams tries hard but never fully convinces as a military man. Blink and you'll miss Rob Lowe in a cameo and William Peterson is uncredited.The main problem with "Mulholland Falls" is that it does feel like two movies slapped together. The military/government angle felt very out of place; what started off as a promising detective story dealing with the murder of a young woman who has connections to both the police force and the corrupt underworld of Los Angeles turns into a bland maze of incoherent and uninteresting plot points.Some may argue that this attempt at neo-noir is unjustly compared to "Chinatown" (1974) and "L.A. Confidential" (1997), but it does fall short. As I mentioned before, perhaps the editing is to blame. It would be interesting if a director's cut exists. Perhaps that would make more sense out of the plot.Dave Grusin's score is nice enough, but only briefly evokes the feeling associated with the genre.In conclusion, "Mulholland Falls" is not a waste of time, it was an interesting premise that simply ran out of steam. Still, if you're an admirer of period pieces or films set in Los Angeles, you may want to give it a try.

I've never understood why this movie was so underrated and overlooked. Perhaps because I live in Los Angeles, I found the settings compelling. Parts of town, like the Los Feliz Hills where Nick and Melanie lived aren't that changed. A word here about Melanie Griffith - this is possibly the best thing she ever did - amazing - did NOT deserve the Razzie - that was just mean-spirited! Nolte is stunning, Palmantieri is great, Connolly was so lovely and heart-breaking - this was early on - many of us had not yet heard of her! Louise Fletcher is only in a couple of tiny scenes - but has what is perhaps the best line in the movie. And of course, the whole atomic testing thing was so far-seeing. I have had to watch it more than once - the first time was almost too much to take in. Now I get it. And personally, I felt the movie ended the way it had to.

Wanna be L.A. Confidential was surprisingly released the year before but everything that that film got right this one gets wrong. The sets and costumes are pristine, not a single crease or smudge, that's the problem with them, everything looks new-not lived in. The actors some like Nolte and Madsen who would seem to be ideal for the period are as at sea as the miscast actors like Andrew McCarthy, who gives a fussy unconvincing turn, all are stiff and give no sense of actually living in the time period, everything feels very staged. The main fault lies with the director who doesn't seem to have a real feeling for the material and just wants to create pretty pictures. Adequate but nothing more.