Les hommes de l'ombre

A top drawer cast stars in "Mulholland Falls," a 1996 film starring Nick Nolte, Chazz Palmentieri, Melanie Griffith, Jennifer Connelly, Michael Madsen, Treat Williams, Bruce Dern, and John Malkovich, directed by New Zealand director Lee Tamahori.

Sometimes when I don't know the year of a film, I try to guess. I placed this film in 1998 because I concluded it must have come after "L.A. Confidential" since it's about '50s crime investigation. Also, Jennifer Connelly is very young here - reminiscent of the way she looked in "Dark City." I was two years off.

The story concerns the L.A. Hat Squad, led by Max Hoover (Nolte) called to investigate the brutal murder of Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly). When her body is turned over, Hoover realizes it's an ex-girlfriend. He's never told his wife (Melanie Griffith) about the affair, stating that he had the affair, it ended, no one got hurt, and to tell her would hurt her deeply. The investigation of the murder leads to a general (John Malkovich), an atom bomb testing site, secret film footage, and military secrets.

Very good performances from everyone - had Nolte been able to keep his life together, he could have been up there with the very greatest. He's always been capable of truly great performances, all the way back to the "Rich Man, Poor Man" days. Here one can feel his tremendous sadness and weariness. It's a pall that hangs over the entire film. Jennifer Connelly, whose part isn't very large, is gorgeous, sexy, and tough. Melanie Griffith gives a mature performance as Hoover's wife. Uncredited in the film are Rob Lowe and Louise Fletcher. There is a very exciting scene at the end of the movie.

"Mulholland Falls" never received the attention that "L.A. Confidential" did. One can blame marketing, but the story isn't special enough, the characters not as well delineated, and the pace is a bit too leisurely. This isn't to say it's not a good film. It's just not exceptional.

I applaud anyone who does a period noir that comes off like a noir and not a bad attempt. There, "Mullholland Falls" succeeds admirably.

This film has an excellent eye appeal due mostly to the efforts of Haskell Wexler (cinematographer). See more of his work in "Matewan","Bound For Glory" and "The Secret of Roan Inish".

Nick Nolte, one of America's best actors, gives us one of Film's best visual performances. Watch closely the scene in the cemetary with Melanie Griffith as Nolte,without words,displays a man who has lost the one thing that makes him love.

After years of reading bad reviews about Mulholland Falls, I recently turned on this DVD with low expectations and was totally surprised by how much fun this great little popcorn movie was; right down to the soundtrack . Great cast, great look and about as much logic and charm as the old 50's detective magazines. After seeing Nick Nolte in this, I'm now hoping to see him in a future Tarrantino movie. Nolte would also be a perfect fit in one of the upcoming Sin City sequels. I also have new respect for Roger Ebert, one of the few critics who enjoyed the movie for what it was meant to be. It seems to me that those who didn't like this movie, missed its point. While this isn't Academy Award material, it's a hell of a lot better than the critics would make you believe it was.

As a fan film noir, I loved the 1940s and '50s period atmosphere in this movie. This particular story takes place in the early 1950s. Parts of this reminded me of "Chinatown," but this film doesn't have the impact of that one. It's just not as memorable.

You get an idea that this might be another cops-or government officials-are-a- little-over the top when you see who plays them: Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Chazz Palminteri, Treat Williams, Bruce Dern, John Malkovich, Ed Lauter, Andrew McCarthy, etc. Those guys usually play crooks, not cops. Same with the women in here. Jennifer Connelly and Melanie Griffith aren't exactly Irene Dunne and Doris Day!

We also see CSI star William Petersen playing a Chicago mobster! Unbilled in this film were Louise Fletcher, of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" fame, and Rob Lowe.

This story is a rough-edged for my tastes, with the normal political agendas (government is bad.....again) thrown in here and there, but what I really liked - outside of the look, the "whodunit" angle and the deep cast, was Haskell Wexler's photography. He makes it fun to watch, even if it is no "Chinatown" or "The Big Sleep."

First of all, let's get this straight - the story takes place in 1953, not the '40's. Now - you've got these four guys riding around in a convertible in bad L.A. There's a comic aspect to this little ritual, kind of Abbott and Costello times 2, but it's hard to know who's the straight man.

The plot is not a new one, but the violence has (at least) the merit of being real person-to-person violence (as differentiated from being acted in front of a blue screen and digitally augmented). There are too many "name" actors here, and (I'll grant) not much character development, but it's a chance to watch Nick Nolte and Bruce Dern do their signature performances - Nick, impassive and looming large, has played this role many times before, and always to good effect. He was better doing it in "Q&A", but that was TOO real, and a much too scary. Bruce Dern's overacting is almost reassuring and one of the few animated performances in the picture.

Melanie is subdued, being the window dressing, and they have her wearing shoulder pads, which wasn't a fifties thing, but she gives a good performance without any of the lip-licking she usually resorts to. The photography is good, the desert ominous, and watching evil Treat Williams get thrown out of the plane most entertaining.

It's not Chekov, it's not anything wonderful at all, but it reeks of ambience. I'd recommend it as an evening's entertanment. Much better, certainly, than the stuff that passes as entertainment on the big screen most of the time.

Sure wish they'd given Michael Madsen more screen time - what if they'd pushed Chaz Palmintieri out of the plane early on and beefed Mike's role? Whadya say?