"Life is hard ... but it's harder if you're stupid!"
Peter Yates's The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) is a unique caper movie. Stripped of thrills, sentiment and likeable characters, its scuzzy pessimism makes a memorable, if depressing experience.Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) works on the fringes of Boston's mob as a gun dealer. Fingered in a hijacking, Coyle's asked to work as an informant by ATF Agent Foley (Richard Jordan). Coyle's situation grows more complicated when client Jimmy Scalise (Alex Rocco) initiates a series of robberies. Fearing Eddie will rat, Scalise enlists bartender Dillon (Peter Boyle) to handle Eddie - unaware that Dillon's an informant himself.
Based on George V. Higgins' novel, The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Yates previously directed the high-octane Bullitt (1968), opting here for a grim docudrama approach. He and photographer Victor J. Kemper explore a seedy, crooked Boston, prowling its outlying quarries, run-down cafes and crowded hockey games. Far from profiting off his crimes, Eddie lives in a cheap apartment with a nagging wife (Helena Carroll). Crime doesn't pay, it's simply a way of life.
Yates' absorbing, leisurely pace matches his clinical approach. The centerpiece heist takes fifteen minutes to unravel, Yates staging the preparations, robbery and escape with clockwork precision. There are tense arms trades, a violent sting and a prolonged finale where Dillon plies Eddie with booze and hockey tickets. Characters debate heist tactics and the virtue of using machine guns over pistols. It's a scummy world where criminals barely scrape by and the Feds aren't above board.
Robert Mitchum gives an excellent performance. Stripped of charisma and machismo, Mitchum plays a beaten-down sad sack too accustomed to failure to aspire to anything better; he's riven by regret but not remorse. Peter Boyle's chummy middleman steals every scene. Richard Jordan's tough-minded ATF agent and Steven Keats' sleazy gunrunner add color. Alex Rocco, Mitchell Ryan and Helena Carroll play supporting roles.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle will disappoint anyone looking for escapist thrills. Those attuned to a more slow-burn movie will find it an engaging show.
