Back in 1996, an all-star cast along with odd director Lee Tamahori made a 50's noir gangster film called 'Mulholland Falls', not to be confused with 'Mulholland Drive'. This ambitious project was focused on a real life team of detectives in Los Angeles called the 'Hat Squad' who solved crimes and stopped bad guys by any means necessary, even if it meant getting their hands dirty. This was Tamahori's second feature film to direct, before he went on to make a string of mediocre to downright awful films, including the 'xXx' sequel, Nic Cage in 'Next', and 'Along Came A Spider'.
However with 'Mulholland Falls', Tamahori used his detailed creative mind to get the 50s to look perfect, managing and creating each shot perfectly. Every moment of the film looks amazing, but that's about as far as it goes. While Tamahori was focusing on the visual style and framing, the story and script got away from him, which led to a movie with almost zero character development between four detectives. It's almost as we are seeing a sequel film to something we never knew existed. It would have been nice to know these four Los Angeles detectives before we see them in action, which would have us sympathize or relate to them in some form or fashion, but we don't, even though their performances are fairly good.
There just isn't a lot of development with their origins or rapport, leaving us cold when something drastic happens. The leader of this detective outfit is Hoover (Nick Nolte, grunts and all), along with Hall (Michael Madsen), Relyea (Chris Penn), and Coolige (Chazz Palminteri). We meet these guys as they throw off a mob boss off a cliff on Mulholland Drive, hence the title of the film. Needless to say, this isn't the way we have come to know how police conduct their business. Soon enough though, their police chief (Bruce Dern) informs them of a dead body (Jennifer Connelly) near a construction site to investigate.
The team notices that every single bone is broken in her body. From here, the detectives soon realize that this woman's death might just travel up the political ladder to the very top, as they investigate nuclear test sites and other political offices. Betrayal, sex tapes, and friendships all come to the forefront here in hopes to blackmail one another to prevent the government from looking bad, and it's up to these four detectives to figure out how this poor woman died, before they lose their own lives.
With supporting performances from Rob Lowe, John Malkovich, Andrew McCarthy, Treat Williams, Daniel Baldwin and Hoover's wife (Melanie Griffith), the film moves at a quick pace, although some of the side story lines run off in a tangent. I think Tamahori couldn't focus on this huge cast, while trying to create 50's Los Angeles at the same time, and the actor's did the best they could with what they had. Some did better than others, as Melanie Griffith won the infamous Razzie Award for her performance here. It's hard not to compare the recent 'Gangster Squad' film to this, as it's very similar in nature.
While it might not have that over-the-top 'Dick Tracy' feel to the movie, it borders on that same line with some overly dramatic dialogue and emotions from time to time. That, and everyone smokes cigarettes in the film from start to finish. 'Mulholland Falls' isn't a terrible film by any means, but it just isn't great either. It lacks the focus and coherence to make us fully invested, despite the awesome cast.
However with 'Mulholland Falls', Tamahori used his detailed creative mind to get the 50s to look perfect, managing and creating each shot perfectly. Every moment of the film looks amazing, but that's about as far as it goes. While Tamahori was focusing on the visual style and framing, the story and script got away from him, which led to a movie with almost zero character development between four detectives. It's almost as we are seeing a sequel film to something we never knew existed. It would have been nice to know these four Los Angeles detectives before we see them in action, which would have us sympathize or relate to them in some form or fashion, but we don't, even though their performances are fairly good.
There just isn't a lot of development with their origins or rapport, leaving us cold when something drastic happens. The leader of this detective outfit is Hoover (Nick Nolte, grunts and all), along with Hall (Michael Madsen), Relyea (Chris Penn), and Coolige (Chazz Palminteri). We meet these guys as they throw off a mob boss off a cliff on Mulholland Drive, hence the title of the film. Needless to say, this isn't the way we have come to know how police conduct their business. Soon enough though, their police chief (Bruce Dern) informs them of a dead body (Jennifer Connelly) near a construction site to investigate.
The team notices that every single bone is broken in her body. From here, the detectives soon realize that this woman's death might just travel up the political ladder to the very top, as they investigate nuclear test sites and other political offices. Betrayal, sex tapes, and friendships all come to the forefront here in hopes to blackmail one another to prevent the government from looking bad, and it's up to these four detectives to figure out how this poor woman died, before they lose their own lives.
With supporting performances from Rob Lowe, John Malkovich, Andrew McCarthy, Treat Williams, Daniel Baldwin and Hoover's wife (Melanie Griffith), the film moves at a quick pace, although some of the side story lines run off in a tangent. I think Tamahori couldn't focus on this huge cast, while trying to create 50's Los Angeles at the same time, and the actor's did the best they could with what they had. Some did better than others, as Melanie Griffith won the infamous Razzie Award for her performance here. It's hard not to compare the recent 'Gangster Squad' film to this, as it's very similar in nature.
While it might not have that over-the-top 'Dick Tracy' feel to the movie, it borders on that same line with some overly dramatic dialogue and emotions from time to time. That, and everyone smokes cigarettes in the film from start to finish. 'Mulholland Falls' isn't a terrible film by any means, but it just isn't great either. It lacks the focus and coherence to make us fully invested, despite the awesome cast.