The Conversation (1974)

Quite often, movies use a particular tune as a recurring theme, varying the tempo based on the emotion on display, like ‘Lara’s theme’ in Dr. Zhivago for instance. ‘The Conversation’ uses a recorded conversation between a cheating wife and her lover as a recurring theme, as it plays on the mind of a suspicious introverted surveillance expert, who tries his best to not get involved with the content of his recording.

Harry Caul is a surveillance expert, a private operator who spies on people and records their conversations for his clients. His motto has always been to keep distance from the objective of his client, focusing instead on doing his job right. When a competitor brings out a ghost from Harry’s past, where his recordings led to the death of a family, Harry begins to feel responsible for the consequence of his current recording, between a cheating wife and her lover and particular sentence, ‘He’d kill us if he had a chance’. Faced with inner turmoil between his natural instinct to walk away and a sense of guilt, Harry must decide what to do.

Francis Ford Coppola’s screenplay and direction of ‘The Conversation’ are mind blowing. The first 10 minutes are spent on the conversation between the woman and man in a square, with lots of people around them. That conversation is played and re-played, serving as a background to Harry’s thought process, showcasing outstanding sound direction.

The viewer is taken into the deep recesses of Caul’s mixed up mind that suppresses guilt and suspicion. Cual’s loneliness and claustrophobic existence are depicted superbly through his interactions with his occasional girlfriend, to whom he cannot even express his love, his awkward interaction with people and his ultimate confrontation with himself. The film was nominated for directing, writing and sound at the Oscars.

This has to be one of Gene Hackman’s finest roles. As his world begins caving in on him, you can sense his increasing discomfort. Hackman’s character doesn’t say much but conveys everything through body language. A fine example of method acting. A young Harrison Ford does a good job of playing the client’s assistant, who keeps Caul guessing on his fate.

‘The Conversation’ is a great suspense film, high on content and technique.