The Friends of Eddie Coyle

The problem is the length. While most movies are overlong, this one’s too short.

The story sees Robert Mitchum as the titular Coyle, an aging hood facing jail time and contemplating turning police informant.

Though Mitchum has top billing, it’s essentially an ensemble film, but with only a 102-minute running time, we never get to know any of the other characters. Further, Mitchum seems out of place in the film, an old man amongst kids.

His character makes mention of his contemporaries having long ago retired to Florida, but a longer running time would have allowed more interactions with more characters his age, such as his wife, or other locals, perhaps illustrating just how much has come and gone during Coyle’s lifetime.

Alternatively, director Peter Yates could have cut some of the ancillary plot lines, such as the bank robberies, to focus exclusively on Coyle. It’s either that or expand the running time to make the rest pay off.

Still, the film does feature solid performances all around, especially Steven Keats as a would-be hotshot gunrunner, and an ending that almost makes the whole thing worthwhile, but ultimately, the aforementioned length problem robs the finale of its full dramatic potential.