Review of The Conversation (1974) by Blackity B — 08 May 2009

I found that what made Francis Ford Coppola?s ?The Conversation? work was the strong character and performance by Gene Hackman. The structure of the film closely parallels? Blow-Up, but it is the character of Harry Caul that makes it a strong move on its own.

The plot revolves around the main character spying on people for his work, finds out a murder plot in his reel, tries to put the pieces together but fails and falls into a state of confusion and paranoia - quite like Blow Up. The difference here is the added theme of guilt which gives the story another layer. It is not so much Harry Caul?s personal interest that drives him in investigating the deeper meanings behind the conversation he records, but the feeling that he is responsible for the consequences of his work (the murders). No matter how hard he tries to distance himself from the clients he helps, his world is gradually rocked to the base and he finds blood on his hands (and coming up his toilet). This guilt is largely subconscious and stems from his religious beliefs - though he tries to suppress it and cover it up as best he can by living a very private life, hiding his personal identity and refusing to let his co-workers and friends in on who he really is - a technique to disconnect his private and professional life as much as possible, to act towards his job as something he needs to do to earn money and therefore can?t be blamed for whatever bad things may result from it. No matter how hard he struggles though, the guilt only grows bigger and bigger when he tries to uncover what really is going on in the conversation of the young couple he records. At the end, he is faced with the truth that he once again contributed to the murders - and he falls into a state of destructive paranoia, ripping his apartment apart in search for the bugging device planted on him.