Enemy of the State (1998)

When I saw “Enemy of the State” in 1998 I loved it as a shockingly smart, electric child to the 1974 classic thriller “The Conversation.” Will Smith here plays a D.C. lawyer trapped in an impossible conspiracy involving the National Security Agency, portrayed as a power-mad and secret-crazed demon of data collection, snooping, and illegal spying, with anyone in its way, hunted for  life or left for dead. “There’s no such thing as privacy,” one character says. Director Tony Scott (RIP) and his writers must have seen the future. This is our reality. Our now. The NSA owns us. We willingly gave ourselves over. Now, the great cinematic trick: When Smith’s lawyer – arrogant, a cheater, way too assured of himself – falls hard, his only savior is an ex-snoop played by Gene Hackman, who played an expert snooper in “Conversation.” The casting is genius. Smart. Instant built-in background. The character names may be different, but the faces match. Fast paced with crackling dialogue and action, I once got a giddy charge out of nerds at computers handed the power of America. Now I see it as evil truth. Name one other film more precognisant. A

The Conversation (1974)

Between turning out “The Godfather” Parts 1 and 2, Francis Ford Coppola made another film that ought to be on my All Time Favorites list. With its focus on early 1970s audio surveillance and wicked phone tapping, “The Conversation” defines the era of Nixon paranoia more so than “All the President’s Men.” Yet, its script/production schedule preceded Watergate. The film’s not just about privacy. It’s also about the art of sound, the difference between hearing and listening, and the consequences of the job. Gene Hackman plays Harry Caul, a professional eavesdropper who lives to record the impossible, including a jittery couple walking around San Francisco’s Union Square. As much as Harry strives to invade the privacy of others, he works to guard his own until his latest employer (fronted by a young, quietly menacing Harrison Ford) starts turning the screws. This is Coppola at the height of his powers, laying out a morality tale about technology, privacy and faith, so expect to be intrigued and laid flat by a devastating finale. Hackman gives his greatest slow-burn performance, topped only by his boisterous detective in “The French Connection.” A+