Les hommes de l'ombre

Nick Nolte must have thought he died and went to heaven when he was offered the part of Max Hoover in Mulholland Falls. Consider, in the film Hoover is married to the lovely Melanie Griffith while simultaneously involved in a torrid affair with ultra sexy Jennifer Connelly. Now I ask you, what sane man could turn down such a part? To Nolte's credit he kept his mind on business and turned in a excellent performance.

As Hoover, Nolte is head of a post world war 2 Los Angeles police division assigned the task of keeping organized crime out of the city of Angels. Given cart blanch by their superiors Hoover's crew often resort to brutal even murderous means in carrying out their duty. Their favorite disposal site for human garbage is Mulholland Falls; a rocky cliff nestled in the hollywood hills.

One day the squad investigates the death of a young woman found in the nearby desert. To Hoover's horror he discovers the body to be that of Allison Pond, (Connelly), a pretty prostitute who was his former mistress.

Finding no clues on the murder site Hoover checks out Allison's apartment. While there Hoover realizes the apartment is the site of sex film anonymously sent to him days before. Hoover quickly discovers the films origin point in a neighboring apartment. He then just as quickly makes contact with the individual who took the films. Said person was secertly taking the movies to blackmail some of Allison's more influential clients including Hoover himself. Unfortunately, for Hoover the films are stolen before he can take them into custody.

Later, when Hoover begins zeroing in on one of Allison's especially influential clients as a possible suspect in her killing he is pressured by everyone from the FBI to his superiors to backoff. He refuses but soon has second thoughts when a mysterious source threatens to use the missing film to reveal his affair to his wife.

As previously stated Nolte's protrayal is top notch but he is not alone. Several solid supporting performances including Griffith, Connelly, Bruce Dern and Chazz Palmeterri lend quality to the proceedings.

It's 1950s L.A. Lieutenant Maxwell Hoover (Nick Nolte), Coolidge (Chazz Palminteri), Hall (Michael Madsen) and Relyea (Chris Penn) are a squad of rough LAPD detectives who throw bad guys off a hill on Mulholland Drive. They investigate the murder of Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly) who actually is linked to Hoover. They uncover secretly filmed sex sessions as well as the Nevada Atomic Testing Site. They are threatened by Colonel Fitzgerald (Treat Williams). She also had an affair with General Thomas Timms (John Malkovich), head of Atomic Energy Commission.

It's a tightly wound neo-noir. Connelly is a sort-of-femme-fatale on celluloid. Maybe they should have included a sister following the investigation in the present. The flashback aren't as interesting. Nick Nolte is good at being hard but his desperation needs to be heightened. This movie has most of the elements of a hard-boiled film noir but it does lack the sharp dialog. It needs more thrills to go along with the style.

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.

Along with movies such as "The public eye" or "LA Confidencial", "Mulholland Falls" is one of those products that aim to recreate the atmosphere of film noir, making everything look a little bit more modern, more violent….

"Mulholland Falls" moves between the thriller and the detective movies, and the cast is its strong point: Nolte, Palminteri, Penn, Maden… four time bombs, four real tough guys. When Nolte or Palminteri lose their temper you'd rather not be around… Murder, questions, a good script, great actors… Nice movie.

*My rate: 7/10

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."