Review of The Conversation (1974) by Adam T — 26 Mar 2017

Considering the grand, epic nature of Coppola's other '70s films, The Conversation is something of an anomaly. While I suppose it could be classified as a thriller, it reminds me of another recent viewing of mine ("The American Friend") in that it doesn't play out according to any pre-conceived notions the audience may have about such a genre.

The story revolves around a solitary surveillance expert who records a secret conversation, and as a result he is caught up in some sort of conspiracy which could involve murder. In almost any other instance, such a film would be a taut and plot-driven suspense flick, but not in Coppola's hands.

The Conversation is a deliberately paced character study which, through the use of some brilliant camera work (it almost feels as though one is eavesdropping on the characters), probes the mind of Harry Caul, a man tortured by remorse and the fear that through his work he will repeat the tragic mistakes of the past.

Though a sense of danger and intrigue lingers ever-present in the audience's mind, Coppola focuses primarily on the more mundane details of Caul's life (his work, his relationships with other characters), which greatly increases the overall effectiveness as the plot begins to unravel, along with Caul's mental state as haunting visions exposing his inner fears become more and more frequent.

This is a very intellectual film as well -- I'm still not 100% sure if the main theme is that as our ability to retain personal privacy decreases, we become more distrustful and isolated from others, thus implicating surveillance technology as a barrier to human interaction, or if the central message is one criticizing the selfishness of obsessive privacy because it restricts our ability to positvely intervene in the lives of others.

Still, this is a masterpiece no matter how you look at it, and the final sequence is among the most profound and heartbreaking that I have ever seen.