A portrait of swinging San Francisco in the 1970's with a gloomy and uncomfortable detective investigating a mass murder, this opens well, but by the end has fallen pretty far. Reflecting mainstream America's discomfort at the time, most of Frisco's inhabitants are weird and sleazy, and the detectives by voice and acting show their hatred for the job and society. Matthau has job and family problems, and the family matters are a loose end that is never resolved by the film's end, nor is Dern's relationship with nurse. What's an even greater flaw is that the villain never says a word throughout the film. We hear Matthau rage about him, we see him hanging out in gay bars (to indicate his moral degeneracy), but not a single word of dialog passes his lips. It's like Matthau is swinging at smoke.