Mulholland Falls Details

A flawed bid to re-create the sleazy glamour of postwar Los Angeles, an era that would be stunningly evoked a year later by the Oscar-winning LA Confidential. Nick Nolte heads a very starry cast, playing the hard-nosed head of the Hat Squad — a group of detectives prepared to take the law into their own hands to deal with mobsters. Nolte becomes entangled in a political conspiracy when investigating the death of a beautiful woman (Jennifer Connelly) who had been his lover. Director Lee Tamahori stylishly evokes the period and elicits excellent performances from a cast that also includes John Malkovich, Melanie Griffith, Treat Williams and Chris Penn. However, all are let down by the muddled script that fails to flesh out the intriguing premise.

Period thriller that looks better than it plays; it never fully engages an audience's attention, and the ending is unsatisfactory.