Ricky Leighton The Conversation

In The Conversation, Gene Hackmans character Harry Caul is submerged in his own audible world that alienates him from the rest of society. Due to the mental trauma he received when people were first killed because of his work, his character becomes obsessive and skeptical of other human beings. The fact that Caul spies on people causes him to become cautious of getting too close to others as well.
Walter Murch (Sound Editor) isolates specific sounds that help to heighten the intensity of Harry's situation. For example when he runs into the women who he believes is going to be killed, Murch takes the sound of the elevator, eliminates everything else and raises the volume of that sound. This gives the audience the feeling that drama and tension are building.
When Harry listens to his recording of the conversation, he hears one of the subjects say "He would kill us if he had the chance". This causes Harry to become obsessive over the tapes and question whether or not he should hand them over. He is still troubled from the previous incident when people were killed. Harry's alienation is evident when he is laying in bed with the woman who eventually steals the tapes. Despite her attempts to capture his attention, Harry can't stop listening to the tapes over and over, evidence of his moral uncertainty.
Through out the rest of the film, Harry continues to cut people out from his own personal world. He installs several deadbolts on his door, he plays saxophone alongside loud jazz music and keeps a telephone in his drawer. Eventually, Harry starts to choose what he wants to hear. He goes to the Hotel and believes that he hears the woman and man getting killed. He is in his apartment in the end and believes that he is being bugged somewhere in his apartment. Harry's work leads to his demise but it also leads to his lack of personal relationships. Even when he has a party, he insults someone and everyone leaves. In the end, the film is not about the conversation between the two subjects but the effect of conversation on Caul and the people around him.