The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

VERDICT:
9/10 Trust Issues

Man, that Robert Mitchum was one cool sonofabitch.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is about an aging gunrunner with pals in low places who turn to him as their one-stop-shop for all their firearm needs as they run around town sticking up one small-time bank after another. But Eddie’s got a problem, a problem involving him doing time upstate, so he turns to a dirty cop to get him out of it in exchange for leads on a machine gun-smuggling hippie, but that might not be enough to get Eddie cleared without having him go full-out snitch.

Such are the dilemmas of being a blue-collar criminal in Boston. That kinda crap would never happen in New York.

This is one of those movies that’s unfortunately gone the way of the dinosaurs over the years, a movie that for some reason just doesn’t get made anymore in this world overrun by directors on speed who think swearing as loud as you can while waving around a gun as big as your torso makes your characters “badass”. Yeah, it’s a fossil and the only person you might recognize is the grandpa from Everybody Loves Raymond, but this, folks, is a refreshing trip back to the golden era.

See, Eddie Coyle is the antithesis of flashy. The characters are all working men that are entirely unbecoming despite their lines of expertise, it makes Boston in Winter look like the coldest, most average, un-Hollywood setting in the world and the whole damn cast looks and acts like they were picked out of a bar outside Fenway. A lot of the credit here goes to director Peter Yates and writer Paul Monash on this one, because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more authentically ordinary movie without it being a documentary, and that’s exactly why it stands out.

The story’s also out of sight and it’s up there with some of the best stuff by Elmore Leonard. Took me a bit to figure out everyone’s role, how they were all connected and what exactly was going on at first, but keeping the audience out of the loop actually ends up working in its favor. It keeps you interested instead of frustrated and one of my favorite aspects of this whole thing was the awesome time I had putting all the pieces together.

And for a movie that I was expecting to have some serious down time in between heists, there’s really none to be found. The great thing about this script is that all the scenes where guys are just talking to each other are as compelling as a group of guys robbing a bank, and that’s something else. This isn’t Tarantino dialogue, there’s no drawn-out speeches that no one in their right mind could make up on the spot (not to say that I don’t love Tarantino-speak or anything), it’s simply realistic, badass men having realistic, badass conversations at normal speaking levels, and I. just. love. that.

But like I said, Robert Mitchum plays Eddie “Fingers” Coyle, and the dude makes it look painfully easy. Mitchum’s always been one hard mother effer, but the reason Eddie steals the show is that it’s like he’s not even trying, like he’s gone through so much shit in life that he doesn’t have time mince words or strain himself trying to act tough when it just comes natural. He’s a man who gets to the point and makes damn sure you’re on the level before you try to bring him down to yours, and everyone learns right quick that a couple jewels of wisdom from Eddie go a damn long way.

Peter Boyle and Alex Rocco (Moe Green from The Godfather) are also great as Eddie’s “friends”, but Mitchum’s where it’s at.

The only thing that’s strange about this movie is its occasional funk soundtrack that sounds totally out of place in comparison to absolutely everything else, but that’s easy enough to overlook. Wish there wasn’t any music at all though, seems more fitting for a group of guys that definitely don’t listen to funk.

Look, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is just a great, legit time capsule back to a period when film makers knew a thing or two about the weight of presence rather than the weight of screaming. It’s a no-frills ride, it’s a movie that makes me blind with confusion as to why it ever went out of style and it’s a fantastic testament to one of the great truths in this world: “Life’s hard, man, but it’s harder if you’re stupid.”

Write that one down, kiddies, ’cause you sure as hell ain’t gonna learn that from Michael Bay.