In his account of everything from the covert political forces at work in the United States of the '50s to the era's social rituals, polite and less so, Tamahori proves exceptionally adept at integrating substance with style. He gets superb help in the style department from a crack team led by cinematographer Haskell Wexler and production designer Richard Sylbert. They create moods and settings that actually help define the identity of each of the key characters. Later, when you see the general on his porch in the clear light of day, it's as if he's as out of his element as a bat. For all its attentiveness to ambience, Mulholland Falls never lets its evocative good looks become a distraction.
Style finally counts as much as story here, but only because the blend is just about perfect.
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