The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Based on George V. Higgins’ book, The Friends of Eddie Coyle follows Robert Mitchum’s title character as he attempts to negotiate a lenient sentence for himself by selling out a variety of his criminal cohorts. Filmmaker Peter Yates has infused The Friends of Eddie Coyle with a low-key, gritty sensibility that proves an ideal match for Paul Monash’s screenplay, and it’s clear, too, that the director has elicited a series of almost astonishingly captivating performances from his cast – with Mitchum’s consistently spellbinding turn as the increasingly desperate protagonist standing as an obvious highlight from start to finish. (The degree to which Mitchum inhabits his sad-sack figure is nothing short of jaw-dropping.) There’s little doubt, as well, that the movie’s universe is deepened by an ongoing emphasis on the supporting characters’ respective exploits, while the inevitable convergence of the various plot threads ensures that The Friends of Eddie Coyle only grows more engrossing as it progresses (and it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that Yates has packed the proceedings with a number of suspenseful, spellbinding sequences). The end result is a top-tier 1970s crime flick that boasts one of Mitchum’s very best performances, which is no small feat, certainly, given the raft of stellar work within the actor’s filmography.

***1/2 out of ****