Review of The Parallax View (1974) by Conner R — 11 Aug 2010

I presumed that The Parallax View was going to be another horribly dated and hokey dirty government thriller (and that car chase towards the beginning definitely leaned that way) where one little guy blows the doors off of a government conspiracy.

If nothing else, The Parallax View showed me how nice it is to be wrong sometimes. Warren Beatty's performance definitely has me understanding the whole Warren Beatty Thing (at least late 60s/early 70s era Beatty.

) But for as subdued and enjoyable as Beatty's performance was, Alan J. Pakula's direction is the real standout here. Every shot from the lat 20 minutes of this movie is a work of art. And speaking of the last 20 minutes, they were so dark and menacing to the point where enjoying the movie almost became a chore.

I know this movie's a year older than me, but where's it been all my life!?!