Mulholland Falls
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Movie Reviews of Mulholland Falls
Movie Review: Worth revisiting...
Summary: 4 Stars
They say timing is everything and this certainly applies to the release and reception of movies. Case in point: Mulholland Falls. Released a year before the very similar L.A. Confidential, Falls was also a retro-noir set in 1950s Los Angeles that featured a murder mystery leading to a vast conspiracy. However, Falls was promptly blasted by the critics and quickly disappeared from theatres while Confidential became the toast of critics and award shows all over the world. So, what went wrong? Falls featured a cast of solid character actors (it had more name actors than Confidential) and a critically acclaimed director with Once Were Warriors' Lee Tamahori as opposed to Confidential's Curtis Hanson who had only done adequate B-movies like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild. Now that a few years have passed, Mulholland Falls has aged surprisingly well.
One of the first things that is so striking about this film is the gorgeous attention to detail with vintage cars, suits and music from the period. The casting of actresses Melanie Griffith and Jennifer Connelly is right on the money as they both have the voluptuous body type common to that era. Sadly, they aren't given too much screen time but this does give Connelly's character something of an ethereal, mysterious quality that is quite haunting and works well in the movie.
With his gravelly voice and weathered good looks, Nick Nolte is well cast as the conflicted tough guy, Max Hoover. If there is one significant problem with the film it is the lack of screen time given to the excellent actors in his crew. They are given little time to develop their characters with only Chazz Palminteri edging out the others. There is little chemistry between them and as a result it isn't believable that they are a tight-knit crew. That being said, the chemistry between Nolte and Palminteri begins to kick in towards the end of the movie but it is too little, too late.
There is somber tone that hangs over Mulholland Falls and the ending is refreshingly downbeat (unlike the very classic Hollywood ending of L.A. Confidential). Like any good noir protagonist, Max's shattered life stays shattered. The murder has been solved but at a terrible cost to his own life. While Falls is a flawed film and certainly not as strong as Confidential, it is not an awful film by any means and actually has a lot of merits. It is definitely worth another visit and this new DVD offers the perfect opportunity.
Movie Review: Fifties Noir, And Close To Being First-Rate
Summary: 4 Stars
This an almost first-rate noir-like detective mystery that takes place in Los Angeles in the early Fifties. Almost, but not quite. Max Hoover (Nick Nolte) is an L. A. police detective who leads a group of three other detectives. They call themselves the Hat Squad because they always wear hats and dress well. They also dispense vigilante justice with the winking knowledge of department higher-ups. One morning they're called to investigate the death of a young woman (Jennifer Connelly) whose body has been found at a construction site. It's half buried with just about every bone shattered. Hoover recognizes the face; it's a woman he'd had an affair with for six months before breaking it off to stay with his wife (Melanie Griffin). The investigation into the death reveals that the woman had a number of male friends, that one of them was a general, Thomas Timms (John Malkovich) who was key to the development of the atom bomb. The investigation also uncovers that a friend of hers had secretly, without her knowledge, made films of her encounters, including films of her with Hoover and of her with Timms. It also appears that a film she took for fun shows something that really might affect the atomic defense program. Important people want her tape and the tape involving Timms. When Hoover and his men persist in investigating the murder which may lead to Timms, the tape involving him is sent to his wife. Hoover, already a tough cop used to giving out rough justice, is now determined to solve the woman's murder and to wreak vengeance on those who involved his wife.
The good things about the movie are the performances, the look of the film (if you like how Chinatown and L. A. Confidential looked, you'll know what I mean), and the story line involving the murder and the attempted cover-up. Where the movie fails, in my view, is in two areas. First, the relationship between Nolte and Griffin seems drawn out; her distress and his angst slows the movie appreciably. Second, Tamahori seems to confuse drama with melodrama. This is, after all, a murder mystery. Nolte's relationships with his wife and with the Connelly character seem to me to be too much, too overdrawn and too obvious. This is particularly true at the end of the movie, when Hoover and his wife have their closing conversation.
With all that said, however, on balance the movie is one I enjoyed. The DVD looks great, and with DVD there's always the fast forward button.
Movie Review: In the realm of movies like "Chinatown", it comes very close to being almost as good.
Summary: 4 Stars
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!Movie Review: 1953 L. A. story
Summary: 4 Stars
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.Movie Review: Well made film noir
Summary: 4 Stars
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.