Mulholland Falls

In what looks to be a routine murder investigation, Nolte and his posse are surprised to discover Connelly's body. Probing deeper, Nolte and his partners determine that Connelly may have been killed for what or whom she knew. Nolte takes it personally. He and his men place themselves in harm's way with the FBI and other well-armed federal agencies. The plainclothes L.A. cops do battle the Feds and, of course, get way in over their heads. Ultimately, no one wins. When you dig deeply enough, no one ever wins.

The upside: this film stars a great ensemble cast--Nolte; Melanie Griffith, his wife; Chazz Palmintieri, Chris Penn, and Michael Madsen, his partners; Connelly; Andrew McCarthy, an effeminate witness; Daniel Baldwin, a smug FBI agent; John Malkovich and Treat Williams. The film looks super, and it recreates 50's L.A. in clear detail, and the dialogue is convincing. Philosophy and psychology are also briefly discussed, which earns it a half-star with me.

The downside: although most scripts made into movies are implausible, the film has difficulty making a believable transition from everyday murder investigation to the scale of atrocity uncovered by the "Hat Squad." This lack of a smooth transition detracts from the credibility of the plotline and the cohesiveness of the film.

The director was obviously influenced by "Chinatown," which is superior viewing, as is "L.A. Confidential," which was released soon afterwards. "Mullholland Falls" is a "Chinatown-lite," although set 15 years or so later.

If you can avoid overly critical comparisons with the best films of this type, you should enjoy it, too.

That's one of the primary things I appreciate about film noir -- it offers no room for hipster conceit. It's the least smug of all film styles. To appreciate noir you have to be a romantic at heart. MULHOLLAND FALLS understands that romance and demonstrates it in spades.

No, it isn't a classic. Yes, it has it's faults. My answer: Who cares? If you love film noir as much as I do you'll understand what I mean. This movie is really nothing special on it's own, but taken within the context of films noir overall it's pretty damn sweet.

MULHOLLAND FALLS plays like jazz improv, riffing on all the touchstones of the genre. It's "Noir's Greatest Hits": You have the gorgeous dame with a dark past, the hard-boiled hero with secrets of his own, a heinous murder linked to corruption in high places, a sultry music score to back it all up, and cinematography that gives it all a hard edge with just a hint of nostalgia. This film oozes style. What more could you ask for?

See also: CHINATOWN, THE TWO JAKES, and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.