Review of The Conversation (1974) by Tommy H — 06 Apr 2015

I had no idea Gene Hackman had this kind of character in him. I get anxiety sometimes and I find it difficult to think of anything to say so these socially awkward characters I find relatable and curious, like I'm getting insight about myself in my more awkward moments. Of course these characters usually don't give insight, but they're a curiosity anyway. The scene where he's with the woman and she's flirting with him, in virtually all movies here's the moment where the guy steps in and says all the right things and you get a steamy sex scene. But not here. The scene loses its fire but sparks a new, authentic moment because it defies the "professional" way to write a script.

Why is he so quiet? The answer is really the meat of the film. Guilt, paranoia, being emotionally shut off, having an uneventful life despite his achievements, and so on. He's a man with a heavy mind who's completely absorb with his own personal life to the point of alienation. The Conversation is a story about obsession, heroism and redemption. It's a great performance from Hackman.

Harrison Ford was great, too. He didn't do much, but he did a good job of being creepy. When his face is in shadows I was impressed with the intimating effect. He appeared almost like a ghost coming and going from Hackman's life. At times I thought it was going to turn into one of those schizophrenic movies about seeing imaginary people. His performance also made me miss the old Harrison Ford, before he did all those political thrillers in the 90's. It was also great to see John Cazale. He usually plays an unstable, somewhat dim-witted jerk and a character you're not suppose to like, but he always plays that character so convincingly you can't help but admire him as an actor. The man is trouble. Here he isn't exactly a nice guy, but its the most level-headed character he's ever played. It was refreshing. Cazale is one of my favorite actors, which is amazing considering he hasn't been in many movies.

The Conversation is a great movie and I highly recommend it if you like movies that make you paranoid. It's brilliant how many of the scenes of paranoia, Gene Hackman isn't really saying much so you don't know what he's thinking, instead the paranoid thoughts occur in the viewers head. At times you don't know if you're watching a movie about a crazy person or a spy thriller that's making you paranoid.

Another thing worth noting is the film is more important today than it was in 1974. Look at the information coming from whistleblowers today about NSA spying and spy drones and so on. Maybe America isn't Orwellian yet, but it's definitely an interesting topic.