'The Parallax View' has such great potential that it's almost painful to watch it fail. The first hour is a tightly scripted, beautifully paced investigation into the mysterious cause of death of several individuals present, three years earlier, at a Senator's assassination. The performances are universally sound, with that wonderfully slow, natural, almost improvised, quality that seems to be a hallmark of 'seventies cinema. The economy of dialogue and almost Kubrickesque use of wide angles and long-shots to establish Joe Frady's isolation show Pakula at the peak of his talents, all impeccably photographed by the incomparable Gordon Willis.
The Parallax Interview Film is a rightfully famous sequence; evoking contemporary concerns about the media and subliminal advertising, using the language of marketing with a strong understanding of concurrent experiments in conceptual art. The movie-within-a-movie is Orwell's Five Minute hate come to life; terrifying proof of the ease with which we can be emotionally manipulated. The Parallax Interview Film is one of the most important films to come out of American cinema in the 70's and despite it having dated over the years, is as effective and chilling as ever.
Then things take a turn for the worse. The entire story thus far has been concerned with finding why these people were murdered. The investigation leads Frady to the Parallax Corporation, where he undergoes the required brainwashing/encouragement to become an assassin. Then suddenly, all interest in the 'why' is abandoned as we rapidly follow Frady towards his inevitably tragic demise. While I fully appreciate that the outcome mirrors the general proposition that we can NEVER really know the truth and investigation is futile, there's something deeply unsatisfying about being promised a story that fails to materialize. Many questions remain unanswered and require some pretty nimble thinking on the part of the viewer to concoct explanations for what, in all truth, are probably simple plot holes.
This really is a very good movie, with a strong premise, wonderfully written and presented. However, the nihilistic urge to deny the viewer ANY explanation is a pyrrhic victory, that while honest to the story, remains emotionally unrewarding.
The Parallax Interview Film is a rightfully famous sequence; evoking contemporary concerns about the media and subliminal advertising, using the language of marketing with a strong understanding of concurrent experiments in conceptual art. The movie-within-a-movie is Orwell's Five Minute hate come to life; terrifying proof of the ease with which we can be emotionally manipulated. The Parallax Interview Film is one of the most important films to come out of American cinema in the 70's and despite it having dated over the years, is as effective and chilling as ever.
Then things take a turn for the worse. The entire story thus far has been concerned with finding why these people were murdered. The investigation leads Frady to the Parallax Corporation, where he undergoes the required brainwashing/encouragement to become an assassin. Then suddenly, all interest in the 'why' is abandoned as we rapidly follow Frady towards his inevitably tragic demise. While I fully appreciate that the outcome mirrors the general proposition that we can NEVER really know the truth and investigation is futile, there's something deeply unsatisfying about being promised a story that fails to materialize. Many questions remain unanswered and require some pretty nimble thinking on the part of the viewer to concoct explanations for what, in all truth, are probably simple plot holes.
This really is a very good movie, with a strong premise, wonderfully written and presented. However, the nihilistic urge to deny the viewer ANY explanation is a pyrrhic victory, that while honest to the story, remains emotionally unrewarding.