1967, which saw the release ofBonnie and ClydeandThe Graduate, changed everything.
For Caul, voyeurism is pure labor little to no paranoia is attached at all.
The high-tech devices that supply this behavior are even celebrated at an expo that Caul attends.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
Caul and his wiretapping partners aren’t as much a band of outlaws but mere co-workers.
One might say he refused to cooperate.
The crux of the film revolves around a moral dilemma that Caul must confront.
Image via Paramount Pictures
Or, at least, we think Caul discovered this breakthrough in the recording.
The film never makes explicit statements or judgments about its characters and circumstances.
Caul’s paranoia, as he becomes fixated on his recording, devolves into obsession.
Image via Paramount Pictures
The film’s closing moment is a haunting sequence executed with a surprising level of reservedness.
The mystery surrounding Caul’s client speaks to the foreboding presenceassociated with the government in a post-Vietnam/Watergate American panic.
Coppola never bothers to conceal the threatening aura of The Director’s business.
When Caul’s conscience is awakened, Coppola’s cynical interpretation of the paranoid thriller genre manifests.
Caring about the safety of his wiretapping targets was the worst thing for the stability of this mental psyche.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary,The Conversationhas remained as culturally relevant and potent as it did in 1974.
Image via Paramount Pictures
Preceding the advent of the Internet, Caul constructs a digital bubble to become impervious to emotional manipulation.
The film shows contemporary society being overrun by new, arcane modes of technology.
Surveillance is a full-fledged industry that drives the monetary value of Facebook and Google.
Image via Paramount Pictures
Despite the futuristic backdrop of the story, civilization will always amount to a struggle between kings and queens.
The Conversationis currently available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
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A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
