Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is facing a lengthy prison sentence. Desperate for a shorter stint, he resorts to snitching on fellow criminals.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle has become an influence on numerous crime movies. More recently, Ben Affleck's The Town. Having seen the latter upon its release, I can now see the influence The Friends of Eddie Coyle had on The Town.
Now Mitchum I've identified previously as the villain (The Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear) or the anti-hero (Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Out of the Past). Where do I place his title role in The Friends of Eddie Coyle? Well, it's not exactly a villainous part like Harry Powell or Max Cady, but it's not entirely an anti-hero like Mr. Allison or Jeff Bailey. So what is he?
The movie itself is very well-done, especially the robbery scenes. But the narrative threw me off course a bit. That aside, it contains one of Mitchum's best performances.
My Rating: ****1/2
Sounds like a very interesting movie. I always enjoy a good crime thriller. Haven't seen this, but might have to check it out sometime. I did very much enjoy The Town, too. So even more reason to check this out if it drew inspiration from here.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, go check out my blog to pick up your "award" in my Versatile Blogger post. ;)
I've had this on my DVR since October. Have to watch it soon.
ReplyDelete