“The Conversation” – A lesson in listening [MOVIE REVIEW]

Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in "The Conversation." Photo courtesy of Rialto Pictures.

Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in “The Conversation.” Photo courtesy of Rialto Pictures.

Between “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II,” Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed a passion piece called “The Conversation.” Almost fifty years ago, in 1974, America was reeling from the revelation of the White House Tapes and Watergate. Domestic spies were everywhere and it seemed as if no one was untouched. Paranoia enveloped the atmosphere but, as they used to say, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

Harry Caul is a surveillance expert; maybe the best in the world. His shop is equipped with top of the line security devices, some of which he has finetuned himself to increase their viability in difficult situations. We meet him as he is supervising the surreptitious recording of a man and a woman meeting during their lunch hour in San Francisco’s Union Square. New technology has produced directional parabolic microphones that can be positioned from far away, wireless microphones that record the ambient environment, and solid state condenser mics that have replaced the older, vacuum tube devices. Harry is having everything transmitted to the bank of reel-to-reel tape recorders in his nearby van.

Harry returns to his warehouse with his assistant Stan to listen to all the tapes and glean what is missing from one to what is present on another. Stan, never a party to the purpose of the job only to its execution, tries to lighten the mood in the stultifying atmosphere created by the humorless Harry. Snapping at Stan, accusing him of incompetence, the assistant leaves in a huff. Harry who gives lie to the expression “no man is an island,” is indeed, just that. He continues to listen, each time hearing something different; a different interpretation, a different possibility. Are there different truths at play? With an intelligible set of tapes finally assembled, his job is done and he sets up a meeting with his client. But something’s amiss and the client doesn’t appear, only the client’s assistant who takes the tapes and delivers the cash. Panicking, Harry grabs back the tapes, leaves the money and tells the assistant that he will only the deliver them directly to his boss. He’ll call to set up another appointment.

Wary is Harry’s natural state of being. He’ll wait and in the meantime he has a security convention to attend. In that milieu he’s a super star and recognized by all. Wearing that visibility uneasily, he nevertheless agrees to party with some colleagues, one of whom is the recently departed Stan, now working for Harry’s main competitor Bernie Moran. Later that night, alone with Meredith who shills for Bernie, he is seduced by her. Harry awakes to find his tapes missing. That he and his tapes were targeted is proven when the client’s assistant calls to tell him that they are in possession of the tapes and he is to come pick up his money from his boss, the director. Harry, having heard the tapes over and over and over, is convinced that the director plans to harm the couple he was recording. But the job is over. What more can he do? We shall see.

Coppola was intrigued with the idea that overheard conversations can be interpreted multiple ways. In this he was influenced by the 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni film “Blow-Up” where a photographer randomly shoots a couple’s clandestine meeting in a park. He may have inadvertently filmed what would soon be a murder. It’s hallucinatory and underscores the many ways one can interpret what is seen. The character of Harry is in a similar dilemma with what his tapes seem to reveal.

For the most part, the acting is quite good. Gene Hackman as Harry is expert at being creepy, voyeuristic, stolid, and vulnerable. Allen Garfield as Bernie Moran brings his uncanny unctuous sliminess to the role of Harry’s competitor. He plays the guy who’s always second best and doesn’t understand why to great effect. Sweating and desperation are an intimate part of Garfield’s virtuosity. John Cazale, most famous for his role as Freddy in the “Godfather” movies and  “Dog Day Afternoon,” is given little to do but finds some resonance as a guy who’s just doing a job he doesn’t really care about. To a certain extent, Stan is the comic relief, something in short supply in this film. As the spied upon couple, Cindy Williams, before “Laverne and Shirley,” and Frederic Forrest are fine as the somewhat anonymous subjects of the investigation. Harrison Ford, at the beginning of his career, plays the director’s assistant. Ford is not really able to convey the mysterious and threatening ambivalence that his role calls for.

Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in “The Conversation.” Photo courtesy of Rialto Pictures.

“The Conversation” is a good movie and is especially resonant in this time of malware, domestic spying, the ubiquitousness of Alexa and Siri, and the bad players all around us seeking advantage through the dirty tricks allowed them with new and emerging technologies. What is, however, lacking, is a sense of urgency and imminent danger because of the ponderous nature of the filming. At almost two hours, the film is probably 20 minutes too long. The two “love” scenes are theoretically used to establish the uptight, strict morality and conflict in Harry’s nature but don’t really work. Highlighting Harry’s stalwart, religious, and uncompromising nature, Hackman is given little latitude to express the ambivalence that his character may be feeling.

Coppola, in love with his concept and in thrall to “Blow-Up,” repeats his theme of multiple interpretations and choices endlessly. More, in this case, was too much and slows the film so that the mystery’s resolution doesn’t quite have the impact it might have had. That being said, the very last scene is terrific, turning Harry’s paranoia into reality and cracking open an already fragile psyche.

Once again, thanks are due to Rialto Pictures for releasing a new 35mm print of this classic. It is always worth exploring any film they choose to rerelease.

Opening January 28 for one week only at the Laemmle Nuart.

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