Les hommes de l'ombre

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.

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."

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

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.

Nick Nolte heads the cast of Mulholland Falls which came out a year earlier than L.A. Confidential and covered the same time period with similar themes. L.A. Confidential is a much better film, but Mulholland Falls does have its supporters.

The title refers to no waterfall because as a bad guy in the film so aptly put it, there aren't any waterfalls in Los Angeles. What it is, is a cliff off Mulholland Drive in which Nolte and his elite squad make a habit of throwing wise guys off. If they survive they have the option of a further trip or go back where they came from.

This was in the days of Chief William F. Parker of Los Angeles who took over one of the most corrupt police forces in the country. He dealt with systemic corruption in much the same manner J. Edgar Hoover did in taking over the corrupt Federal Bureau of Investigation after the Teapot Dome Scandal. Both men were authoritarian in the methods and their temperament. And both men have their supporters and detractors to this day.

But the main body of the film concerns a homicide of party girl Jennifer Connelly who as it turns out was not only involved with Nick Nolte, but with U.S. Army General John Malkovich who was just appointed to the Atomic Energy Commission.

Malkovich has an aide in Colonel Treat Williams who is every bit as extra legal as Nolte and his squad are. In this case the rule book is out on both sides.

In addition to those mentioned some nice performances are given by Melanie Griffith as Nolte's wife, Andrew McCarthy as the photographer and friend of Connelly who taped her sexual sessions. And stealing every scene he's in is Chazz Palmenteri as Nolte's partner, undergoing psychological therapy.

Though L.A. Confidential is definitely the superior film, if you liked that film, you'll no doubt like Mulholland Falls.