"I'm not afraid of death, but I am afraid of murder."

The perfect portrait of paranoia, The Conversation is still striking over thirty years after its release. It's possible that in today's world, it is even more terrifying, with surveillance techniques having become even more discrete and wide-spread. The patriot act, especially, solidified the notion that most people probably ARE being watched, or listened to, constantly.

(From "XKCD", a web comic by Randall Munroe)

Paranoia has simply become a state of being for most people. It seems more common to be paranoid than to simply accept reality for what we are told it is. Harry Caul is the predecessor to the modern man.

Through various tactics, particularly repetition (of musical theme, of lines of dialogue, of character actions), Coppola puts us in a position to be paranoid. We are strung along, just as Harry is, hoping for a resolution (for the wrong party). The ending is so uncomfortable, so full of fear that you are left feeling much like Harry, unsure of what to do, knowing what you know, having seen what you have seen, and with the constant threat of being watched hovering over your head.

"Fella, you don't know what this story means."

Joe Frady was fucked from the beginning. Despite his cleverness and bravery, the Parallax Corporation was always at least one step ahead of him. I had a feeling that this was the case as soon as we were introduced to Joe, but I tried to put it aside. After all, what is the point of watching a movie in which the protagonist is set up to fail?
Thankfully, I didn't KNOW that while watching the film. I retained a glimmer of hope for Joe as he traversed the traps and challenges of Parallax View.

Nearly everything about this movie is relatively unconventional. From the subtle score and general lack of diegetic music, to the long, drawn out shots during which almost nothing happens and the tension is built up because of your inability to discern what is going to happen. Very rarely is the main protagonist of a story doomed from its inception. There were more questions than answers, and most of the answers only brought up more questions. It forces you to begin questioning everything, even what you thought you knew was true.