Review of The Conversation (1974) by Harry W — 01 Jun 2013

The Conversation didn't appeal to me as being the thought provoking thriller I had expected after hearings of its critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations, but it still was a clever low-budget feature with fine efforts to it from its direction and acting.

The Conversation can potentially be irritable to some due to the amount of repetitive sound effects in moments and the slow pacing of a simple, character-driven plot. It can also seem strange and have its points questioned due to the various subjects it uses to characterise Gene Hackman's character.

Nevertheless, The Conversation was a good film.

The chilling atmosphere was great and kept things monotonous, much like the mindset of Gene Hackman's character which ensured a simple but chilling atmosphere which is great because it never becomes excessively convoluted with confusion due to a good simplicity.

Also, The Conversation is extremely well written and directed from Francis Ford Coppola in one of his simpler ventures which makes the viewer fascinated and charmed by the quirks of the story, as well as the momentous realisations which result in stunning film intensity and has the audience fascinated and charmed all over again.

Gene Hackman also provides a great role in the lead creating the ideal psychological thriller mindset of a character living in an existence of paranoia for the viewer to ponder about while they understand him no better than he can understand himself. Gene Hackman conveys a truly disturbed character without it being excessive or unrealistic and so what he provides is a sense of realism to the film through a paranoid character which comes out finely. John Cazale, Robert Duvall and a young Harrison Ford were also all very good.

Also, The Conversation has valid points that are told cleverly in its story and is likely to have had a valid influence on the terrific Tony Scott film Enemy of the State.

So all in all, The Conversation is a fine quirky film from Francis Ford Coppola which serves as one of his better small scale films.