Review of The Parallax View (1974) by Craig T — 22 Apr 2012
Pakula and Beatty team up in a vicious political thriller where bystanders of an assassination start dying one by one. Beatty plays a slick reporter that proves he can handle himself in a bar fight and under pressure.
He sets out to uncover a criminal organization he believes is hiring assassins to do government dirty work. I like the way the director subtly clues us in on perceptions and occurrences not a moment too soon.
The thrills come quickly and we are able to absorb them due to the pace of the story. In what turns out to be a great performance by Beatty, he cautiously fills the role with not too much paranoia or Bronsonism but enough to keep us entertained.
He is an ordinary reporter doing extraordinary things as he infiltrates and eludes at will. It is impressive to see how far he will go and how close he will inch without getting burned. What begins to catch up with him is particularly gripping as the film ultimately shows no fear or pulls no punches.
The dim intro and exit scenes represent a brass frame around the whole picture and Pakula illustrates all the background that Beatty stands in. View lies in the same genre as The Manchurian Candidate and Executive Action taking aim at conspiracies and assassinations.
It is even similar to some of Pakulas other work and that's not a bad thing since the director sets this film apart in making it so unapologetic and straight forward for us to either accept or dismiss.
It is as engaging as they come and as far as political thrillers, it is on par with the best. (B+).
This review of The Parallax View (1974) was written by Craig T on 22 Apr 2012.
The Parallax View has generally received positive reviews.
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