Review: The Conversation

Year: 1974
Genre: Drama
Stars: Gene Kackman, John Cazale & Harrison Ford
Directed: Francis Ford Coppola

Overview: This film journeys into the underworld of the private surveillance business and while doing so grasps at the universal themes of communication, guilt and redemption. Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is a lone wolf-type who spends his hours sifting through other people's conversations threw video and audio surveillance. While his work has given him acclaim he becomes increasingly secretive and paranoid. Hired to record a conversation between a couple in the park, Harry becomes anxious over their fate and suspicious of his employer.

Writing: The script reads like an Euripides tragedy as conversations are skewed, things are taken out of context and the omnipotent powers that be maneuver their invisible hand. In the middle of it all a quiet, well meaning guy is left with a crisis of conscience and a heavy heart. The dialogue sometimes verges on the benign but its mostly to highlight the subtext of Harry's vulnerable psyche.

Directing: In between the first two Godfather movies, Francis Ford Coppola made this quiet little film, creating nothing short of a minimalist masterpiece. The hallmark plotting is deliberate and the interior shots are often colorful yet stark and lonely. Even when Harry travels to a surveillance convention, the scene becomes alienating, helping us better connect with Harry as he ventures further down the rabbit hole. Shot mostly in San Francisco, the director doesn't sacrifice the cities rich history and culture as he gives the audience a virtual tour, most of which is lost however in an engrossing storyline. Copolla knows how to make an insightful film worthy of discussion, additionally however, he does what I think is a cinematic oddity; he builds a consensus in his audience based on emotions of the protagonist. Like in Apocalypse Now, you may not believe in his political point but you can definitely relate to his richly drawn characters even as they are put in extraordinary situations.

Acting: While Gene Hackman has become iconic for his portrayal of no-nonsense characters, Harry Caul has a vulnerability that intrigues. Like many of the actors who share the screen with him, the audience wants to be let in to his closed inner-self and like any good actor, everything Hackman says he does so without speaking. John Cazale, likewise gives in a reliable performance though not as memorable as Godfather II. As Harry's hungry protege, Cazale's Stan makes his intentions to make a name for himself very public giving Hackman much to give evil glares to. Also worth mentioning is Robert Duvall's performance who, like in To Kill a Mockingbird manages to take the air out of the room without saying a single word.

Bankability: Providing big name actors, even by today standards, The Conversation is a Robert De Niro away from a star studded smorgasbord. The plot however might detour some as the usage of any other descriptors would ruin the film. Believe me when I say the back of the cover doesn't do it justice.

ALL-Factor: As with most films, this film doesn't have a Apatow sense of humor or a Spielberg sense of wonder. What it does have is a Hitchcock sense of suspense and a richness of color and characterization that only Coppola can provide. In today's modern world where communication technology has become the norm, surveillance still leaves us all weary. With that in mind, The Conversation has become more topical and universal in post-9/11 America than it ever was in the 70's.

Conclusion: Communication is the key according to Coppola, and in this film, the protagonist must deal with the encroachment of technology in day to day life and how it can either enrich us or destroy us. First and foremost however, The Conversation is a quiet, close and personal movie about a man unsnarling his life, his ethics and his relationships, trying to free himself from the guilt he possesses. Anyone with a few hours to kill should definitely watch this suspenseful and important film.