post number 100 Tuesday report

Ah, let's here it for commitment! I didn't finish those 'film snob' essays (someday) but keeping this up at a minimal level is a good thing.

With business as usual...

THE CONVERSATION (1974)

This movie was not on any special list that I keep of films to see. It was just a well-revered classic that also had to be watched in traditional disc form since it wasn't available instantly. Given Francis Ford Coppola's reputation as The Godfather maker, it was surprising to see such a restrained thriller that creates an environment that isn't full of lush set pieces. Rather the sound, the direction and the emotional distance the characters have to keep create an environment where sensory perception in enhanced in some ways but creates such deception in other, more important ways.

I also want to mention that totally awesome tingle moment that comes with revelatory, perfect moments in film (and books, TV, and other mediums). That physical reaction to something so mesmerizing, conclusive, or expressive, that would normally be contained in just the mental realms is such a mysterious sensation, and it seems to happen only in those rare moments where I truly didn't see such a twist coming. There was one of those twists in The Conversation, and it shook me to the core... it seemed to actually be toying with my brain and I how I hear and understand things. Definitely hard to describe as you can see, but that twist wouldn't have been so amazing if the film wasn't made so perfectly.

I think I need to give it 5 stars on Netflix instead of 4.

Jonah