Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

tomgillespie2002 Adapted from the novel of the same name by George V. Higgins, director Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle takes pride in its authentic depiction of 1970s Boston, where Irish mobsters trade weapons and organise truck hijackings over a diner table. It follows low-level criminal Eddie 'Fingers' Coyle, played by Robert Mitchum, as he faces a lengthy spell in prison for a crime organised by bartender associate Dillon (Peter Boyle). His only hope of avoiding jail time is a recommendation to the District Attorney's office, which may put him good favour with the judge. ATF agent David Foley (Richard Jordan) sees the opportunity to further his own career by promising Eddie he'll put in a good word as long as the career criminal feeds him solid intelligence.Mitchum is perfect as a man who has grown tired of risking his livelihood for his bosses, having grown old with little to show for it other than some extra knuckles gained from having his hand slammed into a drawer by a rival. Coyle is well-connected and reliable, with a keen eye for a good business deal. Yet as his superiors have grown rich, he still lives in a shabby neighbourhood, saving up any pennies he can. He purchases guns from the wild yet competent young gun-runner Jackie Brown (Steven Keats), but sees an opportunity to prove himself useful to Foley, who actually has more informants within Coyle's underworld than the old man realises. Coyle understands that this is his last chance to escape the world he has become weary of, and spend his remaining years enjoying the sunshine. Yet his information never seems to be enough for Foley, and as the rate of successful arrests rapidly increases, it isn't long until his 'friends' become suspicious.The Friends of Eddie Coyle could have only been made in the 1970s, when studios in Hollywood were more open to taking risks and allowed writers to tell the story they wanted to tell. This is about as unsentimental and understated as crime dramas get, shot by cinematographer Victor J. Kemper in a loose style more akin to documentary than thriller. The tone is almost nihilistic at times, mirroring the mindset of the majority of the film's shifty characters. It makes for riveting viewing, with Mitchum delivering one of his finest performances in what was already a muscular career. The supporting cast is excellent too, with both Boyle and Keats utterly convincing as bottom-level scumbags, all of whom seem to exist in a state of constant paranoia and aggression. It will leave you incredibly cold, but only the very best crime sagas expose this dangerous world for what it actually is.

begob Hard to write a logline for this: Tired criminal betrays his fellow workers, and is betrayed back. To death.First up - Mitchum is the greatest. Woo! Nobody does it better. Second, '70s US urban grit is the greatest film atmosphere.The story wanders around, like the best film noir, and the characters and the corruption are so compelling you can't help following.Mitchum has a loving relationship with a plain old Irish girl, Sheila - pity they didn't drill into that. This is really all about the acting, and there are some great actors on display, but hardly any women. So it's not complete, but well worth a view.

seymourblack-1 The events depicted in this movie seem to unfold so naturally that the experience of watching it is like being an unseen observer amongst a group of people associated with the Boston underground. Maybe this is why it becomes so immersive and seems so realistic. The whole movie is dialogue-driven and features a series of conversations from which it quickly becomes apparent that everyone involved is simply struggling for survival in a dangerous line of work where no-one can be trusted and the consequences of failure can be extreme. The atmosphere is unrelentingly grim and there's no-one involved who could be regarded as either heroic or glamorous.Eddie "Fingers" Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is a small time hood who's facing the prospect of a prison sentence after having been caught driving a truck of illegal liquor for his best friend Dillon (Peter Boyle). As a lifetime criminal on the wrong side of fifty, he can see time running out and is desperate to avoid another term in prison because, at his age, he doesn't think he'll be able to survive the experience. During his time out on bail, he continues his work as a middle-man buying guns from an arrogant young dealer called Jackie Brown (Steven Keats) and selling them on to Jimmy Scalise (Alex Ricco) who's the leader of a gang of bank robbers.The only way open to Eddie to avoid (or at least get a reduction in) his impending sentence, is to become an informer for treasury agent Dave Foley (Richard Jordan) and so, when the opportunity arises, he gives Foley the details of one of Jackie Brown's deals to sell some machine guns to a couple of hippies. After Foley arrests Brown, he turns the screw on Eddie by saying that the judge in his case will need more before he'll consider making any concessions on his sentence. The only other useful information that Eddie's got to trade is the identities of Scalise's gang but when he tells Foley what he knows, it's of no value because the treasury agent has already been given that information by another of his informers (Dillon). With no cards left to play, the prospects for Eddie look bleak as he continues to try to negotiate his way out of the fix that he's in.In a marvellous performance, Robert Mitchum conveys the dignity and desperation of his character who's consumed with fear and yet still tries to operate within the criminal code he respects. His long career in crime has left him mentally and physically exhausted and all his efforts to get out of his current predicament feel increasingly futile. Mitchum's tired-looking demeanour exemplifies the sense of hopelessness that Eddie feels in a way that seems incredibly natural and ultimately makes him a surprisingly sympathetic character. The rest of the cast also turn in consistently strong performances in this memorable crime drama which is gritty, downbeat and full of tension.

Dave from Ottawa Other reviewers have mentioned this film's very 70s look and concluded that it looks dated, but it doesn't really. Shot now, but set in the 70s it might look and play just the same. More a slice-of-lowlife character study than a crime thriller, the acting and writing are wonderful. Mitchum's character is world-weary in the extreme, Boyle is so duplicitous that he succeeds in deceiving himself and Richard Jordan hits just the perfect amoral note as an exploitative Fed who manipulates both of them with shaky promises and dirty deals. Boston itself, with its grungy urbanity is very well used and the dauntingly fortress-like architecture of Government Center seems an appropriately sinister nest for the conscience-less bureaucrats who work there. Here, none of the glamor visible in The Godfather is present. The criminal characters live quietly desperate, lower middle class lives and bungle along from one 'job' to the next. They are working stiffs whose métier is crime, and their world is a dark and unpleasant one. It was nonetheless a privilege to visit it.