MULHOLLAND FALLS
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 1996 Christopher Null
Just so you know, there are no waterfalls in Los Angeles. The titular MULHOLLAND FALLS refers to the smarmy practice of taking a criminal to the high point of the mountainous Mulholland Drive and booting him off, only to catch up with him sometime later at the bottom.
MULHOLLAND FALLS is the preferred method of ridding 1950s L.A. of unwanted baddies, and it is most often used by a foursome of elite cops: Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Chris Penn, and Michael Madsen. Their newest mission: to find the murderer of Allison (Jennifer Connelly), a girl whose bizarre death leads the gang to a General (John Malkovich) at the Atomic Energy Commission and his number one thug (Treat Williams).
Could have been interesting, but it unfortunately isn't. The main problem appears to be substantial meddling with what likely started out as a good script. Instead, there are no surprises here at all. The plot is formulaic and leaves nothing to the imagination, and it moves at a snail's pace. Also, important expository scenes have been cut out to apparently give more screen time to the many big-name stars paraded through the film.
The most noticeable flaw in this regard is Melanie Griffith's character, playing Nolte's estranged wife, whose role is a complete throwaway but is used to try (and fails) to develop sympathy for her and her poor hubby. Almost as bad are Andrew McCarthy, as a stereotypical homosexual informer, and Connelly, who we see only in flashbacks. Note: when we do see her, we are treated to generous portions of surgically-enhanced cheesecake.
Still, the movie has its moments. The quartet is mostly entertaining when they interact among themselves, particularly Nolte and Palminteri. There are a number of nice lines of dialogue that really imbue the film with a sense of the macabre. And placing us against the backdrop of nuclear testing is somewhat thought-provoking and interesting. As well, director Lee Tamahori, who last did ONCE WERE WARRIORS, is as capable here as can be expected given a lackluster script.
The bottom line is that MULHOLLAND FALLS runs in circles pretty slowly. You might expect a little more from an American film, but as Nolte's character puts it, "This isn't America; this is L.A."
RATING: ***
\-------------------------------\ |* Unquestionably awful | |** Sub-par on many levels | |*** Average, hits and misses | |**** Good, memorable film | |***** Perfection | \-------------------------------\
-Christopher Null / null@filmcritic.com -Screenwriter-Producer / Novelist-Publisher -Visit the Movie Emporium at http://www.filmcritic.com/ -and e-mail requests to join the movie review mailing list
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