The Conversation (1974)

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Elizabeth MacRae, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, Michael Higgins, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Robert Duvall. [R]

Coppola’s intense psychological study (inhabiting a riveting mystery) has Hackman playing Harry Caul, a guilt-ridden and secrecy-obsessed surveillance freelancer who records a conversation that could prove dangerous, possibly even fatal. Produced in the midst of the Watergate scandal, paranoia courses through the film, and its protagonist is a man whose very line of work makes him untrustworthy, repeatedly betrayed by those around him; what actually happens in the jarring final act is less important than the fact that Harry doesn’t know for sure and never will. Its bleakness and attention to details both suggested and stated make it an uncommonly involving thriller, and while its attentive pace may chase away impatient viewers, there’s never a dull moment when the layers are constantly being peeled away and the script plunges deeper and deeper into doubts and delusions. Hackman has rarely been better, and Garfield has a plum role as a professional rival. Duvall went unbilled for his small but crucial part.

95/100