
The Friends of Eddie Coyle. 1973. USA. Directed by Peter Yates. Screenplay by Paul Monash, based on the novel by George V. Higgins. With Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats. DCP. 102 min.
Though it flew under the radar after its original theatrical release, Peter Yates’s adaptation of the acclaimed novel is now considered a hidden gem of 1970s American cinema. In the role of Eddie Coyle, Robert Mitchum offered one of the best performances of his legendary career as a melancholic small-time gangster who dreams of retiring and finding peace in solitude. Broken promises nevertheless confound him, and he finds himself torn between his ties to Boston’s Irish mob and turning police informant to avoid prison. Rarely have loneliness and conformity gained such moving expression, as Mitchum slowly becomes the unknowing victim of human betrayal.