It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Great Film overall

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

What this is not, is a super slick, fast moving, sexy and violent cops and robbers movie - there's not even a car chase and this from the man that made Bullitt. What this is, is a very low key, believable look at downtown crime in 70s US and a faded Robert Mitchum struggling to survive in his later years and avoid a spell inside. And of course to do this he has to call in some of his 'friends' and do a little more crime. He struggles a bit in the part but this might be Yates lack of direction which will also become evident in The Deep. Within the environment of a dirty Boston and even dirtier pals this is all fine. Steven Keats in his first film is fantastic as the ultra laid back gun runner, Jackie Brown and the ever reliable Peter Boyle has a central role of the barman who notices things and is not afraid to pass on information, a year before Young Frankenstein. The way Boyle moves around in the makes you think he's already practising for that role. No sex and violence or splashy effects then but simply a good wild crime movie told from an unusual angle, the bottom.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is not concerned with silly little gangster fantasies that we are used to seeing on the big screen. When armed criminals rob a bank, it takes just one mistake or wrong move for a trigger to be pulled and for an innocent life to die. Yates knows this, so he does not push any overblown theatrics that might convince the audience that one of the inhabitants will spring from their spot and be the hero - a closeup of indignant eyes, or a twitch of the hands. The robberies are executed with a silent, calculated efficiency that illustrates their experience. The civilians play their own roles with the same obedience, because they also know all these facts. An innocent person of stature is used as a spokesperson for the criminals in order to emphasise the status quo; nothing can be done to prevent the bank from being robed, but no one needs to get hurt. The film is a lean, lean crime story, stripped of even the slightest bit of glamour and glitz that a big city gangster flick would have. If there was a completely unsentimental film this would be it - the action does not serve to thrill the audience, but to underline the desperation and awareness that these characters have hoarded over a career of crime. Boston is shot in all its grey, shabby allure for the lowlife criminals, capturing the utterly unspectacular locations that they frequent: lonely bars, dull diners, crummy parking lots. The women are not blonde bombshells that men would go to the ends of the earth for; when Eddie kisses his plain, frumpy wife in the morning, it is sweet and endearing, and reminds us that many of these lowly crooks have similar loves to come home to. You could pluck any of them out of a crowd. We see this in the final shot as the two melt into the crowd, men who have come together briefly for each other's benefit but would not give up even a dime for each other. The eponymous Eddie is played by the great Robert Mitchum, who brings not only his steely persona but a heap of baggage that further draws subtleties out of his character. Never has he been asked to play such a desperate and resigned man. We expect an actor of Mitchum's stature and repute to play a made man, a powerful man, a man who controls others and who can snap his fingers and have guns fired and men killed, instead of smuggling them. In another film he would be the mob boss, and Mitchum's performance has streaks of this. Eddie is in no position to ever bargain as he buys guns, but he does so anyway, conveying a thinly veiled threat as he tells of a story of those who get what is coming to them, using his classic deep, throaty voice to command our attention and confirm its authenticity. And when he chastises the business practices of his seller, he condescends from a position of years of learned experience and know-how in the trade, and practically growls: "You ever sell guns before?" You can almost hear the implied "boy" at the end of the sentence. But Mitchum also has the ability, with that greatly expressive face of his, to put on the appearance of a honest, loving, family man. Briefly, in small pockets, we see his facade melting, and underneath is a spiritually and emotionally exhausted man who is barely struggling to keep his life in order. All the masculinity and bravado of his trade prevents him from showing too much, so he must be wary. One of his small slip-ups occurs when he makes a house-visit to deliver some guns, and marvels at the modest quality of living that to him, seems like a palace. What a tragic existence he leads. Eddie Coyle has no friends, and even a simple day at the ice rink is laced with underhanded motives and selfish intentions. In this penultimate scene, his great monologue slips back years and envisions a time where his life was still undecided and his actions had not yet been made for him. We understand that this is the weary sign of a man who choose the crooked path a long, long time ago, and has always known when it was going to catch up to him.

"The Friends of Eddie Coyle" is an overlooked little gem of a crime film that's notable for what it doesn't do, and that's inundate us with action or melodrama. It's the very matter of fact, unsentimental quality of the film that makes it something interesting and worth savouring. In its story of cops and crooks, it shows how there can be dishonour among thieves, especially if you're an ageing sad sack like Robert Mitchums' Eddie Coyle, and will do just about anything to avoid doing any more time. This experience benefits from capable storytelling and straightforward, no frills filmmaking. The cast is peppered with top notch veterans of supporting and character parts, Dave Grusins' score is just right, and the use of various Boston locations is excellent.Mitchum is great in the title role, managing to infuse him with some degree of likability. You shouldn't really be rooting for this guy, but Mitchum just might have you doing so. Eddie is looking at a long prison sentence, so he decides to start ratting on his underworld associates to dedicated detective Dave Foley (a typically solid Richard Jordan). Chief among them is gun runner Jackie Brown, played by Steven Keats. There's also a trio of robbers running around holding up banks, and Eddie knows who they are.The film co-stars talents such as Peter Boyle as saloon owner Dillon, and Alex Rocco and Joe Santos as Jimmy Scalise and Artie Van, two of the robbers. Buffs will delight in recognizing other players such as Mitch Ryan ("Lethal Weapon"), Peter MacLean ("Squirm"), James Tolkan ("Back to the Future"), Matthew Cowles ('All My Children'), and Jack Kehoe ("Serpico"). Director Peter Yates, who'd shown an impressive versatility over the years, moving from things like "Bullitt" to "The Deep" to "The Dresser" to "Krull", does an admirable job in creating this world of scummy people. One can imagine that a film of this kind might bore viewers with shorter attention spans, but it's richly rewarding for those looking for a little nuance and not just escapism.Scripted by producer Paul Monash, based on the acclaimed novel by George V. Higgins.Eight out of 10.

In "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" we get a look at one of the least- glamorous underworlds ever committed to film, and Robert Mitchum is well-chosen for our guide. As a leading man Mitchum is anything but glamorous. Believable yes, affable yes, glamorous no. His Eddie Coyle is broke, old, and looking at two to three years in the slammer for a minor offense. For the sake of his family he wants off the hook, so he meets with an undercover cop and offers to "help Uncle" (that's Uncle Sam to you) by setting up some small-time criminals. The movie's best scenes are split between the patsies, who meet in parking lots and dirty urban parks, and the bigger fish that Uncle Sam would really prefer to land: a coterie of expert bank robbers. Peter Boyle plays a shady bartender who's in league with the latter, and like Coyle he's also dishing to the cops. Unlike Coyle, Boyle's character is not written to be likable. He's depicted as a villain even though he's doing the same thing as the protagonist. This situation raises a question that isn't really addressed in the script: given that Coyle is willing to become, in his words, a "permanent snitch," is he ultimately different from Boyle's bartender? The movie owes us no answer, of course, and the conclusion is fairly satisfying without one... but I can't shake the feeling that it ends just when it could have gotten really interesting, and just when Mitchum is poised to reveal more of his impressive range.