The Conversation review

 Number 365 on the top 1000 films of all time is Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 neo-noir mystery thriller 'The Conversation.'

Harry R Caul (Gene Hackman) and Stan Ross (John Cazale) are surveillance experts investigating a couple in Union Square. Upon listening to their conversations, Caul becomes convinced they're going to be murdered. He soon descends into paranoia, as he tries to save their lives.

The Conversation came only two years after Coppola won the Best Writing Oscar for The Godfather, only a few months before he won the Best Directing Oscar for the Godfather Part 2 and three years after Gene Hackman won the Best Actor Oscar for the French Connection. These two creatives were at the top of their game when they met to make a tense and enthralling film.

Yet everything is so quiet and understated. Subtext is key in so many films, which was so especially true in the Conversation, where there was so much power in what was left unsaid. Coppola dialled into this with the subtext- more specifically Caul's misunderstanding of it helping to propel the film along. This all leads to a very satisfactory twist-ending, which I won't spoil here. As for the hidden bug? Maybe it's in the saxophone? Maybe there isn't one at all? Maybe it's only Caul's paranoia?

Hackman was terrific in the lead role portraying Caul's descent into obsession well. It felt real and authentic. Cazale was also good as the foil to Caul - the one character trying to keep him in check.

And as you might expect from a film like this, the sound mixing was very good. The titular conversation between the couple being spied upon is played throughout the film and is always audible even if the audience aren't aware of its importance.

Paranoia was a key theme of the film. It was something Coppola portrayed masterfully. A good film all around.