Les hommes de l'ombre

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?

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

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.

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.

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."