Mulholland Falls (1996)

Directed by Lee Tamahori. Starring Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Treat Williams, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, Andrew McCarthy, Jennifer Connelly, Daniel Baldwin, William Petersen, Kyle Chandler, Titus Welliver, Ed Lauter, Bruce Dern. [R]

Nolte’s tough LAPD detective is part of a small elite squad unafraid to break the law (and commit murder) to exact a harsh brand of justice against gangland riff-raff in their city. The latest case he and his crew are tackling, however, will test their mettle (and noodles), as the death of prostitute leads them into a web of blackmail, cover-ups, and government/military secrets. Convoluted narrative resists sleuth-like interest because the writing and acting are so self-conscious—more dress-up/reenactment than a seedy lived-in reality. Some nice stylistic touches and a few passages of juicy hardboiled dialogue, but since so much else rings false or comes off as derivative, I was left watching a lot of behavior and patter without satisfactory payoff; no matter how much it wants to be, it sure ain’t Chinatown. Star-studded cast mostly goes wasted, which includes Rob Lowe and Louise Fletcher making brief uncredited appearances; Petersen and Dern also went without billing.

46/100