Retro Thriller: Pakula's "The Parallax View"

Warren Beatty in The Parallax View

The 1970s were the decade in which the conspiracy thriller film came into its own. In the wake of the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the optimism of the 1960s gave way to feelings of distrust and paranoid thoughts. Theses negative thoughts escalated further when the United States was propelled into the aftermath of events such as the Manson murders and the Watergate scandal. Films like Executive Action, The Conversation, Night Moves, Three Days of the Condor, Winter Kills and Capricorn One focused on conspiracies, real or imagined, which exposed the dark underside of the American dream. No movie illustrates these ideas and concepts in a more chilling, effective and believable manner than The Parallax View, director Alan J. Pakula's terrific 1974 thriller.

Warren Beatty plays Joe Frady, a down on his luck (though talented and resourceful) reporter who, as the film opens, is nearby when a popular presidential candidate is assassinated. An investigative committee formed by the government finds that the murder was the act of a disturbed individual who acted alone. Lee Carter, a newswoman who witnessed the murder firsthand, visits Frady several years after the killing. She tells him that that something odd is going on, as a number of witnesses to the shooting have died, seemingly under accidental circumstances. Carter, a former flame of Frady's, is herself found dead of a drug overdose shortly after her visit to him. A shaken Frady decides to look into her claims.

What he discovers is that a mysterious organization called The Parallax Corporation is recruiting people who are on the fringe of society, that don't fit the accepted behavioral norm. These antisocial outsiders are given training, and new jobs, and are ultimately used as assassins, taking out politicians that don't fit the shadowy group's world view. The oddball loners are then framed for the crimes, taking the fall for the killings as a "lone gunman." Frady convinces his editor that he wants to go undercover in the organization, allowing them to recruit him. He hopes to ultimately expose their activities to the world. It's a choice that will prove to be Frady's undoing. 

In The Parallax View, nothing is quite what it seems. There are multiple layers of secrets, lies and misdirection at the center of this shadowy organization. As Frady digs deeper, he becomes caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy. Just how far do the tendrils of Parallax reach? The sense of unease and impending doom is palpable in this cynical thriller. The moody cinematography by Gordon Willis is superb, as is Pakula's tense direction, especially in the chilling sequence where Frady watches the Parallax training film. There's always something happening just outside the frame in this movie, and you're often unsure of exactly what's going on right before your eyes. The X-Files may have popularized the term "Trust No One" but in The Parallax View, there's a true feeling of dread throughout the story. You really can't trust anyone.

The cast is superb. Beatty delivers a solid, low key performance as Frady. The fine supporting cast includes Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels, Kenneth Mars, Walter McGinn and Anthony Zerbe. The intelligent, layered script is by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (with an uncredited assist by Robert Towne) and is based on the book by Loren Singer. Michael Small provides an offbeat score, which adds to the sense of unease throughout the film. Along with Klute and All The President's Men, which were also directed by Alan J. Pakula, this film is often referred to as part of his unofficial "paranoia" trilogy. The Parallax View seems even more relevant in our current environment, and is definitely worth a look. Here's a link to the trailer for the film, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzQRp0Fjpjg, and for an insightful look at the life and career of Alan J. Pakula, check out the 2019 documentary, Alan Pakula: Going For Truth.