Review of The Parallax View (1974) by Darren S — 14 Sep 2009

Not even the cinematography from the great Gordon Willis could have saved this film from being humdrum. The film's worst enemy was it's simplicity; yet an unclear simplicity. There was an assassination of a US Senator, there was the mystery of why.

. . then the film began to unfold into a direction that leaves you feeling cheated, unsure why the screenwriters chose to suck out mystery and reason. Or maybe the question should be: How does the source material compare to what was eventually decided to put on screen? What was taken away? Depth.

There was a lot of information unloaded to the viewer, but it was told in a way that was so simple, the entire structure of the film's conspiracy plot was turned upside down from it's lack of clarity and purpose.