The Conversation - Scene Analysis

From Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, the scene I'm analyzing is the one in which our protagonist, Caul, invites a fellow surveillance expert from the East coast, Moran, back to his workplace for a post-convention party. Among him are other guests, including Caul's partner Stan and a showgirl floozy who seduces Caul. This scene says so much more than what's on the surface, revealing a lot about Harry Caul, as well as the theme of the film.

For one, the dialogue spoken by Moran is invasive and annoying. Throughout the whole scene, he interrogates Caul about a previous assignment back on the East coast. He keeps asking him, "So how'd you do it? Back in '68, how'd you do it?" He then tells the others that this job Caul was involved in later resulted in the death of two people. Caul never directly answers the question, leaving us wondering why, for someone who invades others' privacy for a living, he's so guarded and protective of himself. Perhaps being in the surveillance industry has left him in a permanent state of paranoia. Or perhaps he simply wishes to not reveal the information of his secret, a humble way of keeping his reputation as "the best in the business."

This section of the scene also differentiates Caul from Moran through choice of lighting, costumes, and set design. At one point in their conversation, Caul unlocks the heavily guarded chain link gate into his personal workspace, adorned with a sign that reads "Keep Out." While this is a practical set design move (i.e. it makes sense for someone in his profession), it also represents his undisclosed nature: he's both literally and figuratively locking others out from his life (and in this case, Moran). Another interesting aspect of this scene is the fact that while Moran is questioning him, he's fully visible and well-lit standing in the main room of the warehouse with the rest of the party guests. He wears a rather tacky and colorful red leisure suit and has slicked-back hair and gold jewelry, boasting about his newest "bugging" invention, a pocket pen that's a mini microphone. He speaks to Caul through a barrier: an odd sandblasted piece of colored glass that only reveal Caul's shadow. When we get a shot of Caul's reaction to Moran's questions, we can see that the glass is in the way and Caul's face is half hidden in the dark. And Caul's clothing choice is much more subdued: plain gray suits, glasses, nothing fancy. This shot composition separates the two as complete opposites. Moran isn't hiding anything. He's boastful and egotistical, and reckless in his profession. On the flip side, Caul is careful and precise in his profession, hiding his personal life from others.

This scene certainly isn't the longest in the film and it doesn't necessarily enhance the "A" story plot of the recorded conversation and the impending murder, but it reveals so much more that's under the surface. Through use of shot composition, dialogue, costume and set design, and mise en scene, this scene in Coppola's The Conversation emphasizes the protagonist's guarded and mysterious life rooted on his profession as a surveillance expert, as well as the theme of the film: invasion of privacy and its consequences.