Mulholland Falls (1996)
Directed by Lee Tamahori
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
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Borrowing its portrait of L.A.-style corruption from "Chinatown" and James Ellroy's novels, it's heavy on atmosphere and revels in the nastiness of it all, only to conclude with a simplistic moral that integrity begins in the home.
Because of its tone and subject matter, Mulholland Falls recalls Chinatown, albeit incompletely.
The very title of Mulholland Falls carries a whiff of Chinatown, whose character Hollis Mulwray (the husband of Faye Dunaway's Evelyn Mulwray) was based on the Los Angeles robber baron William Mulholland.
The missing link between Chinatown and Reservoir Dogs, Lee Tamahori's Mulholland Falls introduces a band of independent Los Angeles cops (Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn and Chazz Palminteri) who drive around wearing hats and beating people up.
In fact, had he looked at "The Big Sleep" or "Chinatown," Tamahori might see that those movies are exercises in the power of subtlety, while "Mulholland Falls" is an exercise in excess.
Based partially on a true Los Angeles land-grab scandal of the early 1900s (involving L.A. water engineer William Mulholland, who manipulated water rights for profit), Chinatown is a far superior script compared to a more factual take on the same story—the tedious Mulholland Falls.
There's also a surprise (at least to me) appearance by Andrew McCarthy, who plays the victim's best friend in the movie (loved him since Less Than Zero and Pretty In Pink).
Don't blame veteran cinematographer Haskell Wexler (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) for Mulholland Falls' failings, however.
Director Lee Tamahori's follow-up to 1994's Once Were Warriors, Mulholland Falls follows a quartet of '50s detectives (Nick Nolte's Max, Chazz Palminteri's Elleroy, Michael Madsen's Eddie, and Chris Penn's Arthur) as they inadvertently uncover an epic conspiracy while investigating the murder of a young woman (Jennifer Connelly's Allison Pond).
Oscar winner Dave Grusin contributes a generic score, and Kiwi director Lee Tamahori (the critically hailed "Once Were Warriors") seems lost in America.
From the New Zealand director of the powerful Once Were Warriors comes this Nineties noir take on the brutal world of 1950s-era Los Angeles.
“Mulholland Falls” is the first movie directed by Lee Tamahori since his powerful 1994 film “Once Were Warriors,” the story of violence and abuse in a New Zealand Maori family.
Check out the director: Lee Tamahori, whose 1994 New Zealand debut, Once Were Warriors, ranks among the most powerful and electrifying dramas of the decade.
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Supporting actors Michael Madsen ("Species") and Chris Penn ("Short Cuts") have but the barest of dialogue and stand about as if looking for the roles they were promised.