With knowledge of a series of Boston area bank heists and staring down the barrel of an extended prison sentence following another arrest for running guns, low level criminal Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) contemplates turning government witness. From a novel by George V. Higgins, Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle is an ostensibly informed, low-key crime thriller about bottom feeders and full-time losers that becomes more engrossing as it moves along leading up to its excellent, shocking finale. Mitchum, looking weary and aged, delivers a pitch perfect performance and is surrounded by a den of finely casted good for nothings.
*** 1/2 out of ****
