The French Connection (1971) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / December 1, 2014

The French Connection is one of those films in the action genre that has stood the test of time. Throughout film history, there’ve been a lot of action flicks and a lot of them feel tame by today’s standards. By that I mean you really have to put in the effort to care and appreciate it. This often ends with having to ‘consider the time it was made’. Not with The French Connection, however. This film still rivets from beginning to end.

            The action takes place in New York. Detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) are partners and always work together on stakeouts and busts. After a successful bust, they head out to a local bar to relax. There however, Popeye’s sixth sense tells him several of the bar’s visitors are ‘dirty’, mob guys dealing in narcotics. Relentless, Popeye decides they should tail them, much to Russo’s dismay. This eventually leads them to discover a plot to smuggle 32 million dollars’ worth of heroin into the USA by hiding it in the car of a French television personality.

            That in itself may not sound like much, but the appeal lies in the execution. The film strips away all the gloss, gets rid of heroic notions of police life and presents it in the most wonderfully dreary way possible. It’s one of those films that is often described as being ‘realistic’ and ‘gritty’. And while a (justifiably famous) car chase including an elevated train probably doesn’t earn that description, the overall film emanates this aura.

            Now, I’m not one to ramble on about how ‘the city feels like a character’, but Connection makes the most out of New York. The cinematography emphasizes the sleazy, steamy alleyways, the busy traffic, etc. It adds to the whole atmosphere where each store could hide a large heroin smuggling scam and the only option is to hide in the opposite building 24/7 and monitor the store’s activity.

Speaking of which, that’s the other major appeal: Popeye’s determination to chase criminals. He has no social life besides the occasional one-night stand and he’s made it his mission in life to take down criminals one by one, sometimes to the frustration of his colleagues. This relentless behavior is portrayed masterfully by Hackman in one his most famous roles. Little moments excite like when his predatory eyes scan the bar for criminals in the scene described above or his mounting frustration when he’s lost the person he’s chasing. You get swept up in his desire to catch the criminals.

Another indication of success is the amount of Oscars Connection won, including Best Picture, a prize usually reserved for more heavyweight dramas. As far as action films go, this is required viewing. Save for a handful of moments that feel dated, it’s got it all: the atmosphere, the acting, classic action scenes, everything you could want in an action film.