Yeesh, talk about a bleak crime movie. "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" plunges you into the Boston underworld, full of treacherous people, all playing each other for leverage; a genuine pit of snakes (Peter Boyle most of all). And the tone is superbly set right from the beginning: Fall atmosphere, Dave Grusin funk groove score, '70s muscle cars, locations from comfy suburbs to dingy pool halls. The movie has some pacing issues, but it's also got George V. Higgins' killer dialogue to keep things thrumming along. That, and a good cast (fronted by the always impressive Robert Mitchum, the sap who's doing the most maneuvering).
7/10
7/10