Retro Film Review: Three Days of the Condor (1975)

One of the most immediate consequences of the social turmoil of the 1960s was a global loss of faith in the institutions of government. For Americans, a feeling of mistrust in their government, born out of the traumatic events of the Kennedy assassination, finally peaked immediately after Watergate and turned into full-blown paranoia. The unpleasant discovery of the government's tendency to use its all-powerful resources against helpless and innocent citizens for some hidden agenda caused widespread anxiety. Such anxiety influenced Hollywood too, which launched a whole series of political thrillers about government conspiracies. The trend, with The Parallax View and All the President’s Men as the brightest examples, was very popular for a while, but then the audience gradually grew tired of complicated plots dealing with arcane political intrigues and subtle yet deadly techniques of manipulation and control. However, while the trend lasted, it produced some films that, although hardly masterpieces, look superior to today's attempts to resurrect the sub-genre of paranoia. A nice example is Three Days of the Condor, an interesting 1975 thriller by director Sydney Pollack.

The film begins in a New York office that serves as a front for the research division of the CIA, specialised in reading and analysing books, comics and similar material. One of those researchers is the mild-mannered Turner (played by Robert Redford), who goes out to buy lunch only to find all of his colleagues brutally murdered upon his return. In a state of shock and afraid for his life, Turner contacts his superiors, but the rendezvous intended to lead to his debriefing ends in a shooting. Barely escaping alive, Turner is now convinced that someone within the CIA wants him dead, probably the same person who ordered the massacre. Forced to go underground, Turner kidnaps Kathy (played by Faye Dunaway), a beautiful lady photographer, in order to hide in her apartment and figure out what is really going on.

The script by the talented Lorenzo Semple Jr. (who wrote, among others, The Parallax View), was very good at bringing the atmosphere of anxiety and mistrust to the screen. Unfortunately, director Sidney Pollack, who earned a lot of respect working on entirely different types of films (melodramas and comedies), took the dark overtones too seriously – the camerawork is simply too dark, and the viewer must pay a lot of attention to discern what is really going on. Pollack, on the other hand, used some very subtle but effective techniques to depict violence – something often ignored in today's cinema. The characters are well-drawn and played by a stellar cast. Robert Redford is adequate for the role, although his presence might seem too charismatic for an ordinary CIA analyst caught in a life-and-death situation. Faye Dunaway was much better in a rather thankless role whose impact was undermined by an unnecessary romance. Max von Sydow was very effective as a creepy but cultivated professional killer with a personal code of honour, as was the always reliable Cliff Robertson as Turner's cynical boss. Despite some flaws, and despite the lack of clarity in some segments, the plot seems realistic and plausible. At the finale, however, the film loses a lot of impact due to a moralistic diatribe that comes out of thin air. But, all things considered, Three Days of the Condor might pass as both an entertaining and a very intelligent thriller.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on December 17th 1998)

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