The Parallax View (1974) – A reporter finds himself caught up in a vast conspiracy of political assassination. He will try to find the truth and instead find himself in the crosshairs.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula Starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels
Following the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the ’60’s and the Watergate scandal of the early ’70s, it’s unsurprising that there was a glut of conspiracy movies from Hollywood. Director Pakula actually created two of the better ones in “Klute” and “All the President’s Men”. He came up short with this middle offering.
Beatty plays yet another of his standard hip, iconoclastic, self-involved characters. He just doesn’t bring much new to this version. Most of the characters are cardboard cutouts. Cronyn as the tired, old editor who is willing to back the young rebel reporter, Prentiss is an hysterical female reporter who races back to her ex-boyfriend for protection because she believes she is being targeted for death. Turns out she’s right. A mysterious evil corporation, the Parallax Corporation, apparently can do anything to anyone at any time. In fact, they train assassins to do just that. One of my pet peeves in this kind of political thriller is the idea that the best way to cover up a murder is to kill as many other people as possible. The movie begins with the judgment that the first assassination has been deemed a “lone gunman” and the story has gone dead. Until everyone associated, even tangentially, with the event starts dropping dead. It’s idiotic.
The tempo of the movie is ponderous. The plot is thin and never really goes anywhere. There’s no character development, no discovery about the bad guys background, mission or intent. I will give the movie this – while looking terribly dated today, the cinematography reached for more than stock visuals.
Why I Liked It – Ummm, let’s stick with the cinematography.
Why You Will Like It – It’s a very competent and likeable cast wandering through a thin script.
Rating – ** Not Impressed
Stories Are My Life 
Leave a comment