Keep On Looking: THE CONVERSATION

(This piece was written for L.A.M.B.’s Movie of The Month feature. More opinions about THE CONVERSATION by like-minded bloggers can be found here)

I can clearly remember the first time I took note of a film’s editing. It was early 2001 and the movie was REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. The film’s finale is so incredibly disturbing. It cuts between four separate scenes at a rhythm that assaults ones nervous system, and made me desperately want it all to stop. Individually these scenes would be unsettling, but when brought together in a mad-scientist-tempo they carry an intensity rarely matched. So like I say, this visual smackdown made me take notice of film editing, and I haven’t stopped since (of course, when you’re engaged to an editor – you had better notice).

Watching THE CONVERSATION for the first time, what jumped out at me more than anything else was indeed the way the film was cut.

Essentially, the plot is simple: a conversation is recorded, and the surveillance man who records it obsesses over what’s being said. What makes the movie so good is the way the editing retreads where the story has already gone and continues to unveil details.

The conversation only happens once: every detail revealed comes from that same opening scene with nary a new frame added. Instead we watch and listen as Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) continues to stop and re-start the tape…listening and re-listening. The video follows his moves, examining the details over and over, and use detail shots to convey the tedium of trying to focus in. The couple seems to be talking about nothing, but by cutting back to what the audience has already seen and making them watch it again, the story continues to unfold without actually moving forward. It’s an amazing effect, taking what Antonioni did in BLOW-UP in a brave new direction.

Amazingly, the film uses the other side of the coin too, employing the long take to let things play out and forcing the audience to zero in. Not only does the bird’s eye opening shot seen above work this trick, but likewise the final act in the hotel where Caul slowly searches for evidence of what has taken place in the room next door.

Long take after long take forces the viewer to look closer, to listen closer, and puts the audience into Caul’s position of having every piece in front of them but still straining to put the puzzle together. Everything is examined through editing again and again…there’s no new information…but only by paying closer and closer attention do we finally begin to understand what is actually going on. It’s an amazing bit of film making, one that “cool” movies like THE USUAL SUSPECTS and MEMENTO owe a great deal to, and one that is unlikely to be rivaled in today’s Hollywood where commerce is king.

Far too often, film editing goes unnoticed. It’s the sort of thing that doesn’t catch the average viewer’s attention unless it’s done poorly. It’s a shame too, because it’s a very intricate and subtle craft that can make or break a movie. Or, in case like THE CONVERSATION, it’s what elevates the film to a benchmark.

(Note: The supervising editor for THE CONVERSATION has written a book which is truly fascinating even if you know nothing about editing. If you have a chance, look for a copy of In The Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch.)