French Connection II

The French Connection and its sequel are the Grandfather to such classics as To Live and Die in L.A., Copland, and Narc, and the anti-thesis of all of those 80's flops either far too "Hollywood" or far too "by the book". Hackman is still the "knock down, drag out", shoot first ask later 2-fisted narc that doesn't know what Miranda means that he was in part I, but with a change of scenery that takes him across the pond. The terrain has changed, but the raw unadulterated character acting of Hackman still makes it one hell of a roller coaster ride.

Rife with dirty cops, drug smugglers, and French thugs, this movies direction and writing reminds instantly that it is part of the production catalyst that would later see series like The Shield have such success in prime time TV. The 70's rarely pulled punches when it came to top billed cop movies, starting with Dirty Harry, the original French Connection and then snowballing into classics like Serpico. The French Connection II is no exception. This movie won't disappoint any fan of either the original, or anyone that wanted to see for themselves Gene Hackman carrying a lead action role almost through the screen.

John Frankenheimer may be the best Director that modern Movie Lovers have never heard of. He was always ahead of His time and never compromising. This Movie is surely uncompromising. It took a well known Best Actor Performance from a Best Picture Winner and the Character, Popeye Doyle, and stripped Him of the already barely likable persona of a tough, one dimensional Cop and laid Him open for all to see. It was not a pretty picture.

Neither is French Connection II. It will have you squirming and the Second Act detox is not for anyone with expectation of a slick Action Movie. This is a gritty, dirty, unpleasant Character Study that is compelling Cinema, but not Viewer Friendly. It was taking that Seventies realism just one step further.

It has enough Action and energy to make it as a Thriller but it never lets you forget the painful pursuit of Doyle's obsession with removing H from the Street and the even deeper pain of removing it from your body. This makes this compelling and completely coarse Cinema that makes you pay the price for your Entertainment. Not the best Box-Office formula but it is the stuff of Artistic Angst.

Shipping Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle across the Atlantic to France, where he meets up with political exile director John Frankenheimer, does give this freestanding sequel to The French Connection a certain autonomy, even if the filmmakers ultimately end up sacrificing suspense and urgency along the way. The plot again revolves around heroin-smuggling led by drug kingpin Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), but this picture only really comes alive and starts feeling authentic once it delves into Doyle's budding heroin addiction following a kidnapping. The film's best scene has Gene Hackman firing on all cylinders - drunk and in heroin-withdrawal, he alternately lashes out on and leans on his French colleague Henri Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson), and there's a riveting authenticity to Hackman's work in this and contiguous segments. And it certainly makes "Popeye" and also the film's rather predictable finale more relevant in the process.

It's not very often that a sequel snags a filmmaker even more accomplished than the original director, but John Frankenheimer's gritty touch was just what 'French Connection II (1975)' needed. William Friedkin's 'The French Connection (1971)' was itself gritty, tense and exciting, spinning a true-life police procedural into a harrowing exploration of obsession and corruption. Frankenheimer, in the same vein as 'The Manchurian Candidate (1962),' occasionally infuses his film's stark realism with surreal, hallucinatory elements, perfect for depicting the heroin-fuelled stupor that "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) is ruthlessly forced to endure. The sequel offers a fictional extension of the original film's true events, and sees Detective Doyle following the trail of drug-lord Charnier (Fernando Rey) onto the unfamiliar and unsympathetic streets of Marseilles, France. With the reluctant assistance of local cop Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson), Doyle uncertainly strolls the dirty streets, out of his element in this foreign metropolis, and perpetually hampered by cultural and language differences.

Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his first turn as "Popeye" Doyle, and here he probably deserved another one. His efforts continually frustrated by international bureaucracy and local hostility, Detective Doyle broils with aggression and resentment, a distinctly unlikable but engrossing personality. In one particularly excruciating sequence, as Doyle attempts to kick a heroin addiction cold-turkey, Hackman's performance is a masterclass – pitiful, riveting and painful. 'French Connection II' concludes with an exciting police raid and foot-chase, shot in a realistic style that no doubt influenced successors like Ridley Scott. Doyle's final pursuit of Charnier across the busy streets of Marseilles is enthralling, not least because Hackman himself appears to give it his all, having reportedly neglected to alert Frankenheimer of a chronic knee ailment. In a medium where heroes apparently possess boundless energy, I can't recall a more exhausted and beaten-looking chase participant since Kurosawa's 'Stray Dog (1949).'

Popeye Doyle is now in France to find the drug dealer. The film continues the story, this time John Frankenheimer takes the directing reins.

The film's style is not that different from the first film, it feels part of the series, not detached at all.

Gene Hackman actually gets better, he really gets more out of his acting in this one. The film is very much character driven, very little action. The Cold Turkey sequence is mindblowing. Doyle is shown as a flawed character as is Alain Charnier, this adds to the realism.

The direction is excellent, I'm glad the style didn't change too much.

The photography is less gloomy but the locations are similar to the first film.