The Parallax View (1974)

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Starring: Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels, Walter McGinn, Hume Cronyn, Kelly Thordsen, Jim Davis

More info: IMDb

Tagline: There is no conspiracy. Just twelve people dead.

Plot: Joe Frady is a determined reporter who often needs to defend his work from colleagues. After the assassination of a prominent U.S. senator, Frady begins to notice that reporters present during the assassination are dying mysteriously. After getting more involved in the case, Frady begins to realize that the assassination was part of a conspiracy somehow involving the Parallax Corporation, an enigmatic training institute. He then decides to enroll for the Parallax training himself to discover the truth.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah, once was fine.

I digs me some 70s political thrillers. They're so damn cynical (thanks, Watergate). Considering the team in behind and in front of the camera was so good, I was surprised at how un-amazing this was and I'm not sure where the fault was, if any. Michael Small's score was good. Beatty was good, the direction, writing, cinematography, it all seemed to fit into place but there wasn't much tension. Now that I'm thinking about way too hard it's that we needed more time before the final act dealing with the senator's speech. I would have preferred some more dealings with the Parallax Corporation and Beatty, real sneaky stuff. That last twenty minutes just sort of happened. Oh, well. Good movie, nonetheless, but it could and should have been better considering the talent.