The Conversation, directed by Francis Coppola
The Conversation, directed by Francis CoppolaMurder, scandals, and the frightening world of surveillance all intertwine to form Francis Ford Coppola's thriller, The Conversation. The viewer, engulfed in a restricted narration, explores the mystery Harry Caul, the protagonist, has caught himself in. A narration that begins objective with spurts of subjectivity is enhanced by the peculiar character traits of Harry. A plot that slowly unravels with surprising turns and leaves the viewer dangling at the end explores the dangers and horrors of surveillance.
Exploring the complex character of Harry Caul is key to understanding the movie. At the beginning we hear him say he doesn't care about what the subjects he's surveying are saying, just as long as he gets a fat recording. Arriving home from the job we find his door loaded with locks and upon entering an alarm goes off. On the floor is a birthday gift. Harry then calls the manager of the apartments and wants to know how the manager entered his home. Instantly in the first ten minutes of the film we are shown how secretive Mr. Caul is. He even is surprised that someone knows it's his birthday. A birthday is something that almost every normal person wants shared and know. This fact emphasizes how he is a loner even more. His secrecy is even greater emphasized when he travels to see his girlfriend, Eve.
When he arrives Harry mentions it's his birthday and she didn't even know. This fact triggers Eve's curiosity even more and she tries to find out more about him. Harry won't tell her where he works or where he even lives. He becomes upset with these questions and tells her to stop. Someone becoming nervous about these simplest of questions shows incredible insecurity, and paranoia. This side of him is strange as it completely contrasts and is hypocritical with his treatment of other people.
Harry dives into other peoples' lives, it's his instinct to survey. Upon entering Eve's apartment he stops at the top of the stairwell and listens. She then tells him that how he slowly and quietly puts the key into the door, then opens it quickly it seems as if he's trying to catch her doing something. Eve even tells Harry she feels like he listens to her phone conversations, which he becomes instantly defensive over. This gives the viewer the thought that he might even of have tapped her line. Besides his dealings with Eve, Harry acts the same at his job.
In fact Harry is a leading surveillance expert. When listing notables to a surveillance convention his name is the top of the list. Everyone at the convention even knows his name and wants Harry to give the approval on their product. It seems that Harry is scared of being out done and having his life surveyed. This...
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