Mulholland Falls (1996) - Quotes

Eating as a Distraction from Thoughts

Hoover: How come you got a hot dog in your mouth while you're threading the projector? Why do you eat while you're working? Why do you eat all the time?

Coolidge: It's all psychological, Max. I eat so I don't think about food.

Hoover: Oh... so you eat so you don't think about food.

Coolidge: Yeah.

Hoover: I don't want to butt into your business, but this psychiatrist, the guy you're going to, I think he's in worse shape than you are.

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Unconventional Solutions in a Tense Moment

Coolidge: [trying to thread a projector] Damn it! I can't get my finger in there. It won't fit.

Esther: Try your dick.

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The Cornerstone of Civilization: Human Sacrifice

Hall: What'd Timms have to say?

Hoover: He said the cornerstone of civilization was human sacrifice.

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The Weight of Unseen Consequences

General Timms: These tiny particles of matter, which are so small that no one's ever seen them - never - they contain enough energy to blow up this house, an entire city, every person on Earth. Now that is inconceivable.

Hoover: General, I really don't think much about those things. I'd probably see too much.

General Timms: What do you see?

Hoover: People dead before their time.

General Timms: That's the history of the world, Lieutenant. Some people die before their time so that others can live; it's the cornerstone of civilization, uh… war, religion, democracy… a hundred die so that a thousand may live.

Hoover: Well, General, I take em one at a time.

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Perspectives on Beach Sounds and City Life

Hall: I don't understand how anybody can live at the beach. Those waves crashing and flopping all the time - drive me crazy.

Relyea: I'm with you, Eddie. I like the sound of traffic when I'm sleeping.

Jimmy Fields: I find it very peaceful. Most people do. I guess cops are just different.

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The Burden of Truth and Responsibility

Hoover: Let me tell ya how it goes, Ellery. Ya meet somebody. Maybe they're a little off-center, but they tell ya the truth, and ya like em — ya like em for that. And one thing leads to another, and ya end up in bed. Now that's weak, Ellery.

Coolidge: Max…

Hoover: Now listen to me! Nobody gets hurt. Now, you go home, and you see your wife, and you're feelin bad. Ya wanna unload it, ya wanna get it off your chest. So you tell er. And now she's hurt. Now that's weak, too, Elleroy. But it's also cruel. It's just goddam cruel.

Hoover: Take a— here, here's something for ya. Here's something that doesn't cost ya twenty-five bucks an hour. You carry your own water, Ellery. Ya understand? Carry your own water.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

The Meaning Behind Routine Choices

Coolidge: [riding in the car] You know, I've been thinking, why is it we always sit in the same place? And why is it you're always the one that drives, Max?

Hoover: I guess it's cause I got the keys.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Unexpected Encounters in a Police Investigation

Hoover: Jack Flynn?

Jack Flynn: [hands him money; turning away] Here ya go buddy, buy yourself a good time. They'll let anybody in here.

Hoover: [throwing bills down] Mr. Flynn, I'm Maxwell Hoover. I'm with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Jack Flynn: Oh, that means I get change back.

Perception of Intelligence in Professional Fields

General Timms: You're much more intelligent than you appear to be, Lieutenant. Must be a big advantage in your field. In my field, everyone was always so desperate to seem cleverer than they were.

Assertion of Authority in Los Angeles

Max Hoover: [After beating FBI Special Agent McCafferty senseless…] See? That's federal property. This isn't. This is L.A. This is my town. Out here you're a trespasser. Out here I can pick you up, burn your house, fuck your wife, and kill your dog. And the only thing that'll protect you is if I can't find you. And I already found you.