Welcome to Classic Movie Monday. Every Monday, I watch a film at least 25 years old that I have never seen before. I will then write my comments on the film, telling you what I thought of it. This is an attempt to beef up my classic film knowledge as well as highlight some forgotten gems of Hollywood's heyday. So without further ado...
The French ConnectionReleased: October 9, 1971
Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, & Roy Scheider
Plot in a Nutshell:New York Narcotics Detectives Doyle (Hackman) and Russo (Scheider) stumble onto a large trafficking scheme known as the French Connection.
What I thought:This film is an unending cat & mouse chase. From the moment the film starts to the gripping climax, the film never stops showing the tug between police and criminals. For the majority of the run time the chase is slow and methodical, consisting of tense scenes of tailing the suspect. Then there are the explosive moments of frenetic, determined pursuit. The French Connection easily balances the tension between methodical and maniacal and never becomes boring.
The main plot revolves around a large-scale drug smuggling operation from France to New York. Involving many shady characters, and a hierarchy that I never could quite grasp, the villains of the picture didn't bring much to the table. In fact, nothing about the operation or the players involved is strong enough to support the film. It's not the focus, and it doesn't need to be.
Gene Hackman, as Detective "Popeye" Doyle, is the clear star of the picture. His foul-mouthed, determined, rules-be-damned attitude cuts through the bull. His actions as a police officer are considered reckless and foolish by his peers, but the man gets results. Today, this type of cop character has become cliche, but back in the early 70s, it was still fresh. Hackman plays it as though he is constantly restraining himself, keeping Doyle in check. It isn't until he is 'challenged' by a criminal foe that the gloves come off. Doyle has the potential to explode and in the final scene you see how far he is willing to go. The scariest part isn't how far that happens to be, but how little it affects him. This was a tremendous performance.
The film was made in a slight documentarian style. The camera never seems to be stationary: constantly struggling to keep up with the characters. Under-saturated, the film is grainy and filled with deep contrast. The night scenes in downtown New York lend the city a gritty, criminal quality. Friedkin paints the film as though behind every corner, down every street, and in every ally, nefarious characters lurk. It builds up a great, seedy mood for the characters to inhabit. I wouldn't want to visit the places shown on screen, but it fits the story and the people in it.
Highlighting the French Connection is a mother of a chase sequence. I have seen it billed as the best in all of cinematic history. While I won't quite go that far, I will admit that it's pretty damn impressive. One of the greatest pieces to it, is how it starts. Beginning innocently, with a tired groggy Doyle walking home with a sack of groceries, greeting the passerbys on a sunny day. Then suddenly, he is shot at by a distant sniper, who inadvertently hits a nearby pedestrian. Then it takes off, starting as a simple foot chase down the road, it peaks with Doyle in a car on a crowded street chasing down an elevated train. I'm not going to detail every moment of it because that would ruin the fun. But it was a terrific piece of cinema where the pursuit and the stakes increase in every suspenseful minute. It is a lot of fun to see unfold, and it is genuinely nail-biting.
The French Connection is a terrific film. Hackman livens up the film with his hard-edge detective who stops at nothing in his job to fight crime. Bringing us some great suspenseful moments and pursuits, director Friedkin tells the story with a terrific muddy style. And though the actually plot revolving around "The French Connection," isn't very strong or meaningful, the film has plenty to offer.
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