Wow! Despite being a classic movie, not many people have actually heard about this one, even though it gets brilliant reviews from just about anybody who's seen it. Noticing in the schedules that it was on in the middle of one night, I decided to set my VCR to record and see what Gene Hackman could do for me. I wasn't disappointed. Having seen ENEMY OF THE STATE when it first came out at the cinema, I was surprised at how alike the two films are and specifically the identical characters that Hackman plays in both - even down to the same deserted warehouse being used as a hideout. ENEMY OF THE STATE can be considered an unofficial sequel, and while it's a lot flashier, more exciting and more hi-tech, THE CONVERSATION is still the most gripping film of the two, a powerful and disturbing look into one man's psyche as he suffers a nervous breakdown from being overly paranoid.
A different kind of horror is portrayed here: psychological horror. Hackman gives a superb performance, a subtle and moving study of a man haunted by paranoia. In the end it gets so that even his friends and associates can't be trusted. You can't really blame Hackman for getting so wound up, as he IS caught up in the middle of a conspiracy fronted by the sinister Harrison Ford. I hadn't realised that Ford was in any films before that little sci-fi picture but here he plays it coolly and coldly as a businessman who may be involved in murder. Robert Duvall gives a creepy cameo while other familiar faces pad out the cast - particularly noticeable the late John Cazale.
Even though little actually happens during the film's course, and the running time is lengthy, it grips the interest all the way through. Hackman's obsession is to be his ultimate downfall and it's difficult to watch as his sanity begins to slip. Indeed, his systematic search of an empty apartment is heavy with suspense, even though there is nothing there. Hackman's final hallucination of a toilet overflowing with blood is potent horror image, simple yet effective. And, dare I say it, the film actually manages to be extremely frightening, especially in a key scene where he ventures out onto his balcony to see a bloody murder being committed next door.
The film plays it ambiguously, never saying one way or the other as to whether the events are all in Hackman's head or really happening to him. The final image - of a destroyed Hackman sitting in his destroyed apartment, playing a saxophone - is a great way to end what is a superb little film. Wholeheartedly recommended.
A different kind of horror is portrayed here: psychological horror. Hackman gives a superb performance, a subtle and moving study of a man haunted by paranoia. In the end it gets so that even his friends and associates can't be trusted. You can't really blame Hackman for getting so wound up, as he IS caught up in the middle of a conspiracy fronted by the sinister Harrison Ford. I hadn't realised that Ford was in any films before that little sci-fi picture but here he plays it coolly and coldly as a businessman who may be involved in murder. Robert Duvall gives a creepy cameo while other familiar faces pad out the cast - particularly noticeable the late John Cazale.
Even though little actually happens during the film's course, and the running time is lengthy, it grips the interest all the way through. Hackman's obsession is to be his ultimate downfall and it's difficult to watch as his sanity begins to slip. Indeed, his systematic search of an empty apartment is heavy with suspense, even though there is nothing there. Hackman's final hallucination of a toilet overflowing with blood is potent horror image, simple yet effective. And, dare I say it, the film actually manages to be extremely frightening, especially in a key scene where he ventures out onto his balcony to see a bloody murder being committed next door.
The film plays it ambiguously, never saying one way or the other as to whether the events are all in Hackman's head or really happening to him. The final image - of a destroyed Hackman sitting in his destroyed apartment, playing a saxophone - is a great way to end what is a superb little film. Wholeheartedly recommended.