Television movies have a certain feel to them. Even in the best TV movies, there is never a sense of urgency or on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense.
What is going to happen and whodunit are always pretty apparent from the opening minutes.
While most of them are not particularly horrible, TV movies do not exactly cause people to run out and tell their friends about them. (Not even NBC's much-hyped "The Beast.")
Unfortunately, the film "Mulholland Falls" plays like a TV movie.
Except for an abundance of blood and violence, it gives the impression that they should be sitting home in their Lazyboy watching it. The film isn't terrible, but it is not exactly riveting either.
"Mulholland Falls" is a story based on L.A.'s famed 1950s Hat Squad. The Hat Squad was a group of plain clothes detectives set up to keep organized crime out of the city and dispense their own brand of justice by any means necessary.
The film's title comes from the name of the cliff from which the Squad likes to throw off suspects and other undesirables.
This film is a fictional account of a crime that leads the Squad (Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen and Chris Penn) up against the U.S. government.
The Squad is brought in to investigate the brutal murder of Allison Pond (Jennifer Connelly), who is found near a U.S. atomic bomb testing site.
Pond, however, turns out to be someone with whom the Squad's leader Lt. Max Hoover (Nolte) was having an affair. Soon, the Squad finds out that Pond's death is linked to the other man with whom she was having an affair -- the general (John Malkovich) in charge of the test site.
As Hoover and the Squad attempt to continue the investigation, it becomes abundantly clear that the government does not want them to do so. But the Squad presses on, and conflict between them and the government erupts.
"Mulholland Falls," more than anything else, is disappointing. It fails to live up to the potential the film's many famous and talented faces seem to promise.
But perhaps the most disappointing show is by Lee Tamahori, the film's director. The New Zealand director's first film was the wonderfully powerful "Once Were Warriors."
But this film -- the second of his career and the first out of Hollywood -- fails to deliver the intensity and emotion that "Warriors" provided.
"Mulholland Falls" is an all too predictable film. Its story fails to capture the audience like recent thrillers such as "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects."
Like a TV movie, everything is painfully clear to the audience the moment the body is found, and the plot is wrapped up all too quickly and conveniently.
The film does not examine fully its dark side -- the interesting parallel between the government's and the Squad's questionable methods of providing for what they see as the "good of society."
The film's crooked cops do not provide for any surprises. They are overly violent, but this violence does not shock anyone -- the notion of brutal and corrupt L.A. law enforcers is not really a new concept anymore.
The characters do not add much to the film, as they remain one-dimensional. One of the problems with a cast of so many famous faces is that they all need to contribute to the film in an arrogant way.
But except for Nolte and Palminteri, most of the actors quickly pass in and out of the film.
Malkovich's general is, as usual, quite eccentric. Treat Williams' second-in-command is the typical army bad guy.
Penn and Madsen's talents are wasted in their roles as the other two squad members. They mostly just ride around in the car looking burly, wearing hats and filling the screen.
To her credit though, Melanie Griffith performs effectively as Hoover's devoted wife.
While Nolte has the tough cop routine down, he fails to convey Hoover's predicament in being involved with the victim or his sense of loss because of her death.
Palminteri conveys the film's most amusing part, but he is involved in an annoying and unbelievable subplot. His character is supposed to be in therapy for his short temper.
Throughout the film, he is constantly spouting quotes from his psychiatrist about dealing with his problems openly. He is supposed to be a 1950s tough-guy cop, but is most concerned with the hidden reasoning of why Nolte always drives.
"Mulholland Falls" has its moments, but unfortunately they are few and far between and it fails to live up to great expectations.
The film just is not able to capture the audience enough to shake its TV-movie feel. Wait for the video for this one, as it seems more suited for the small screen.
