How others will see it. Although obscure relative to Coppola's laudable The Godfather Part II, The Conversation nonetheless garnered Oscar nods, and has maintained a respectable cult presence. Having Shirley Feeney in peril helps the cause, and Coppola favorite Cazale and esteemed star Hackman are noted for various great 1970's films.
The Conversation is liked not only because it is a good film, and not only because it has big names behind it. People also enjoy Hackman's character. This is a man whose soul (pun intended) pleasure is tooting a sax alone in a room to a vintage jazz recording.
He does his job, but he's miserable. Partly, because the job involves gathering dirty laundry, and partly because he's paranoid about others turning the tables and spying on him. But the real reason he's gloomy is that he feels guilty over murders caused by a long-ago gig that busted an organized crime racket.
Now, he believes history may be repeating itself. Will Williams get iced because she's involved with another man? Hackman, with his strong religious beliefs, is racked with guilt and apprehension.
How I felt about it. So, the suspense is there. What this film needs is credibility. We wonder at first why women are throwing themselves at this frumpy middle-aged man, who appears to have interest only in Shirley Feeney. This problem is partly resolved when it turns out that one of the women is a grifter after his tapes.
Spoilers aplenty follow, for those who haven't seen (or have forgotten) the movie and actually believe that its value is diminished by knowing the ending.
The Conversation has a climactic plot twist that doesn't ring true. It is a remote possibility to begin with that "the director" will kill people just for having sex behind his back. It's absolutely ridiculous that Ford would conspire with the conspirators to perform an Ides of March on his boss. Especially without bothering to rent adjoining hotel rooms.
The real difficulty of The Conversation, though, is that its male characters are morbid zombies who only perk up when ego and power are at stake. As a member of the male gender myself, I have to say that Coppola has us misunderstood. I hope.