Mulholland Falls

1996

Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller

22
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 39% · 32 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 39% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.3/10 10 20818 20.8K

prostitute police investigation special unit celebrity murder

Plot summary

In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.

Director

Lee Tamahori Photo
Lee Tamahori

Top cast

Jennifer Connelly Photo
Jennifer Connelly as Allison Pond
Melanie Griffith Photo
Melanie Griffith as Katherine Hoover
Nick Nolte Photo
Nick Nolte as Max Hoover
Titus Welliver Photo
Titus Welliver as Kenny Kamins
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
812.60 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 2
1.65 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 47 min
Seeds 22

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by blanche-2 7 / 10

A forgotten '90s noir

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.
Reviewed by Tweekums 8 / 10

Solid neo-noir mystery

Set in the early nineteen fifties this film follows the 'Hat Squad'; four LAPD detectives willing to do whatever it takes, including murder, to rid the City of Angels of organised crime. Then one day they are called in when a woman's body is found outside the city; she is half buried and just about every bone is broken as if she was pushed off a cliff but there are none around. She is Alison Pond who we soon learn was involved with Detective Lieutenant Maxwell Hoover, the leader of the squad. Not long after they start investigating somebody sends in a reel of film which shows Alison and a man in a compromising position. He is soon identified as a general in charge of the US Atomic Energy Commission. He has an alibi for the time she died but as pressure from above is applied to Hoover and his squad it looks as though Alison was killed because she saw something she wasn't meant to; what that is remains a mystery though.I really enjoyed this film; it provided an interesting mystery and great atmosphere. As others have said it doesn't just feel like a film set in the fifties, it feels almost like a film made them. The cast does a great job; Nick Nolte is on top form as Hoover and Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen and Chris Penn impress as the other members of the Hat Squad. There are also solid performances from Jennifer Connelly and Melanie Griffith and Alison and Hoover's wife Katherine. The story unfolds at a good pace and while the identity of the killer isn't a total surprise and the mystery of how Alison came to die seemed pretty obvious it didn't really matter as the big question as to why she was killed wasn't obvious at all. At the end things do get a bit melodramatic but that goes with the genre. There are some fairly violent scenes and some fairly tame sex scenes; I was surprised that it was given a UK-18 certificate though... unless there was something I missed I suspect it would be given a 15 if it were rated today. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of neo-noir films; the story of good and the atmosphere is great.
Read more IMDb reviews

1 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment