The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Directed by Peter Yates
Written by Paul Monash based on a novel by George V. Higgins
1973/USA
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental

Eddie ‘Fingers’ Coyle: [sighs] I shoulda known better than to trust a cop. My own God-damned mother could have told me that.
Dave Foley: Everyone oughta listen to his mother.

Robert Mitchum is perfect as a sad-sack ex-con in this excellent, if dark, violent, and depressing, thriller.

As the movie begins, small time hoodlum and devoted family man Eddie Coyle (Mitchum), is awaiting sentencing for his latest crime.  If Eddie doesn’t get a little mercy from the prosecutor’s office, he will go away for several years as a three-time loser leaving his aging wife on welfare.  The only currency Eddie has with the Man is his connections in the Boston mob.  In particular, he knows people who are trafficking in weapons in the underground illicit gun trade.  He tries to make a deal with Treasury Agent Dave Foley (Richard Jordan) in exchange for some information but Foley plays him like a fiddle demanding ever more active participation in the investigation.

Unbeknownst to Eddie, criminal associate Dillon is also informing for Foley.  The guns in question are being used in a series of bank robberies.  Let’s just say that Eddie could use some better friends.

Robert Mitchum is brilliant as the washed-up man with a past – basically decent, fatalistic, world-weary and tired.  By this time, he knows he’s the perfect patsy.  It’s a rock-solid neo-noir with other fantastic acting and a gritty atmosphere in keeping with the dark subject matter.  An interesting meditation on corrupt cops and even more corrupt robbers.  With a nice jazzy score from Dave Grusin. That Mitchum performance makes this a must-see for a fan-girl like me.