The Parallax View Review

Parallax View, The
The Parallax Corporation, a therapy institute, becomes the target of suspicion for a maverick reporter who realises that all the journalists present at the assassination of a senator are being picked off one-by-one.

by empire |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jan 1974

Running Time:

0 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

Parallax View, The

This '70s conspiracy thriller starts and ends brilliantly with chillingly-staged political assassinations, but it's the occasionally misjudged elements in between which prevent it joining the genuinely classic ranks of contemporaries The Conversation and All The President's Men.

The action set-pieces are inappropriate and poorly handled, and a brainwashing sequence pales in comparison to A Clockwork Orange, but the film's main weakness lies in its leading man.

Warren Beatty is too laidback as the committed hack hero, a role crying out for Nicholson's anger or Hoffman's tenacity. As it is, cinematographer Gordon Willis - at the peak of his powers - is the true star.

Well-shot thriller but with a weak performance from Beatty
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