The Parallax View (Alan J. Pakula 1974)
Posted on December 11 at 15.22, 2007 by Eric Mahleb
Almost 10 years after Frankenheimer’s (The Manchurian Candidate 62, Seven Days in May 64, Seconds 66), Pakula directed his own paranoia trilogy (Klute 71, The Parallax View 74, All the President’s Men 76), as if possessed by somewhat similar demons and motivations, many of which drew from the collective spirit prevalent in the US at the time. It is probable that Pakula was also directly influenced by Frankenheimer’s work.
Indeed, The Parallax View reminds us at times of The Manchurian Candidate in its depiction of deception, fear, conspiracy and of an alternate reality in which the lone (in)sane character tries to uncover a conspiracy. But it reminds us also of the more recent Cypher (02) through its depiction of a world so easily constructed and deceived by large corporations and political entities pursuing their selfish aims at any cost.
But The Parallax View fails to live up to its pretensions and aspirations. The film is a bizarre mishmash of serious, dark and intelligent moments, action-driven mindless scenes, forced coincidences, overly convenient scene resolutions, and strange and often too abstract cuts and dialogues. The progression in time is frequently not perceived, resulting in a film that is often hard to follow. Finally, there is a sense of predictability to it all, making us question how truly intelligent this reporter is, when he seems to be the only one who does not know where this will all lead.
There are nonetheless some quality moments in this film, which is often mostly remembered for its five minutes brainwashing scene during which the viewer is exposed through the eyes of the lead character to a multiplicity of images and words, in a way which has a more profound and direct impact on the viewer, at the very least in the form of a headache, than a similar scene in A Clockwork Orange (71).
My vote: 
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