Mulholland Falls

Lee Tamahori is the talented New Zealander behind the harrowing "Once Were Warriors". With Mulholland Falls he is back with his first Hollywood film. It must be said straight away that Mulholland Falls is nowhere near as gripping as "Once Were Warriors". It is, however, a fine film noir crime thriller. Mulholland Falls is thus just as American as "Once Were Warriors" is New Zealand.

In the 50s, Max Hoover, Coolidge, Eddie Hall and Relya make up 'the hat squad', whose particular speciality is persuading newcomers of the more criminal kind to go back where they came from. The LA policemen do this by more or less gentle means. They are also tasked with solving mysterious murders, as when the young Allison Pond is found completely broken in the desert outside the city. The case is tangled, as the high-ranking General Timms has had a close relationship with the girl, but worse still, Max Hoover had a long affair with Miss Pond until he ended the relationship so as not to let infidelity ruin his marriage to the sweet Katherine. Hoover insists on solving the case anyway, but it is not without danger, for the investigation leads them to a military base where top-secret goings-on have taken place, which certain people will kill to keep from coming to light. Hoover solves the case, but at great personal cost to himself.

Thus Mulholland Falls is a film that, entirely in the spirit of classic film noir, does not serve up the usual happy ending. Mulholland Falls is a good detective film, but it cannot hold a candle to another recent film noir, "L. A. Confidential".