French Connection II (1975)

Starring: Gene Hackman
Grade: A

I absolutely hate that this sequel was named “French Connection II” instead of “The French Connection II”. Why drop “The”? It’s the little stuff that bothers me sometimes.

Summary

In Marseille, France, heroin kingpin Alan Charnier (Fernando Rey) is still at large. As we see him hangout at his house and get greeted by one his henchmen Jacques (Philippe Léotard), we see Det. Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Hackman) arrive elsewhere in France. He shows up to a crime scene to meet with Inspector Henri Barthelemy (Bernard Fresson), who is elbow deep in a fish because they have a tip that narcotics of some sort are hidden inside. Next, Doyle is introduced to Inspectors Diron and Miletto (Charles Millot). They are interrupted when Henri is told the information that they got was bogus. Henri tosses the fish to the ground, with Doyle laughing it off. They get inside the department, and Doyle finds Henri reading his file aloud in the bathroom. Once the room clears out, Doyle rightfully asks what the fuck his problem is, so Henri tells him he was only told to assist Doyle. It wasn’t his idea to bring him in. He reads off Doyle’s big heroin bust of 60 kilos that somehow was stolen right out of police headquarters and wonders how this is possible. Doyle gets defensive, but Henri continues by mentioning how Doyle is responsible for the deaths of five people, two of whom were cops. Once Doyle counters with how the dope from Marseille has killed way more than he has, he is shown to his office by Miletto. Unfortunately, it’s just a table and a phone outside the bathroom. Doyle is annoyed but doesn’t expect anything less at this point. He tells Henri he doesn’t want to be in France either, but he has one goal in mind and that’s to nab Charnier. Henri isn’t enthusiastic of Doyle’s motivation and tells him there’s no one in France with that record or name. Next, they go on a mission together, though he tells Doyle he is just there to be an observer. He can’t carry a gun either.

Next, we cut to Jacques on a ferry. He’s carrying some mysterious backpack and leaves it on his seat.

During this raid, Henri tells Doyle once again to just observe. He promises he will. However, following the explosion of a building and a suspect getting away, Doyle chases the guy down. Henri and his guys separate the two and let the suspect go. Turns out, the guy was a cop working undercover with them. Doyle is embarrassed but what makes matters worse is that this guy is immediately killed by an unknown assailant as soon as Henri explains this situation to Doyle. A frustrated Henri tells Doyle to interrogate all the suspects with Miletto as his translator, which Doyle isn’t too happy about either because he’s only here for Charnier. At his hotel, Doyle loads his gun that he snuck into his luggage. He attaches it to his signature ankle holster. Charnier hunts and talks to an acquaintance named Brian (Ed Lauter). This is where Charnier explains how he got out of New York following the events of the first movie, paying off over half the cops who were after him. Back at the department, Doyle has continued frustrations with the language barrier and French customs and is annoyed at the lack of progress of an interrogation because the guy doesn’t know a single thing Doyle is saying. He decides to have a break and heads to a diner. After struggling to order some alcohol but finally pulling it off, he tries to flirt with some women who are there but to no avail. They leave with some guy on a motorcycle. Doyle continues to drink and pays for the bartender to have a few as well. By closing time, they walk off drunk together.

In the meantime, Doyle continues his investigation. Henri speaks over the phone to the NYPD and admits the expected problems they are having with Doyle and how he’s being used as bait for Charnier, unbeknownst to Doyle. In addition, Henri has two tails on Doyle the whole time, prompting Doyle to confront him about it while chastising him for having a two-hour lunch with some girl when Charnier is still on the loose.

As Doyle watches in on some beach volleyball game and flirts with one of the women playing, Charnier has lunch with Brian. During their meal at this restaurant, Charnier glances over and is shocked to see Doyle lurking in the distance. Though startled, he tells Brian everything is good with their agreement on the next shipment, and he invites him to a party. Grabbing his military uniform still in plastic, Brian turns him down, saying he has to go back to Paris to meet with the ministry of defense. Once he leaves, Charnier lights a cigarette and wonders what to do. Then, his wife shows up and he acts like everything is cool. That night, after Doyle fucks the girl from the beach volleyball game, he eludes his two tails. However, he is beat down and captured by Charnier’s men, and he loses his gun in the process. Next, he is taken to the Hotel Tanger. Handcuffed to a bed with no one to save him, Charnier walks in, admitting Doyle was the last person he wanted to see after all this time. To find out why Doyle is here and to torture our protagonist, he has henchmen inject heroin into him to keep him subdued and continues this process until he is addicted. Even though Henri is doing his best to find Doyle, there seems to be no way out. At the moment, it looks like Charnier may win again.

My Thoughts:

People always forget about The French Connection‘s sequel just because the first one was among the best ever. Though it may not reach the same heights of its predecessor, which is difficult since the bar was so exponentially high, French Connection II is an excellent continuation of our favorite rough-around-the-edges cop Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle going to the heart of France in search of who has become his arch nemesis in heroin kingpin Alain Charnier.

The continuing story of French Connection II is a double-edged sword in the way you may look at it. On one hand, the biggest positive is how true the narrative is to our protagonist. I love how Jimmy Doyle never gave up on Charnier, despite being four years removed from the fateful end of the first movie, and how the determined Popeye has found a way to France just because he refuses to let him get away with it. As we know, he gunned down the wrong man in pursuit of Charnier, FBI Agent Mulderig no less, and as the captions state, him and his partner Buddy “Cloudy” Russo were transferred out of narcotics and reassigned. His hunch was right about “Frog One”, but he lost, and he lost BIG. Everyone was made to look like a fool in the end and most of the suspects got off with reduced sentences at the end of the first film or got nothing at all. The person who got the worst of it was the TV star who had the smallest involvement of them all. Charnier was the head of the snake, but he got away scot-free. In this film, he explains plainly that though he was being chased by around 80 cops, he paid off over half of them to escape. Though William Friedkin doesn’t direct this picture, the cynical outlook, accompanied by the smugness of Charnier who acknowledges the griminess and corruptibility of a place like New York City, as well as how villainy tends to run the world during this timeframe, does fit the overall message of the first film.

Though Jimmy Doyle looked lost in those closing moments of the movie and it’s our last memory of him going into this sequel, knowing that the NYPD essentially screwed him in the end when they had Charnier in their grips shows that the morally corrupted, trigger-happy maniac cop may be one of the last honest detectives left that we know. Yes, Charnier fights dirty and got away with it, but what makes this battle what it is in French Connection II is that Doyle finds a way to match it and gets close to borderline vigilantism because it’s the only way he can stop him. Plus, he doesn’t care anymore, especially after the heroin sequences. Charnier has all the money, is just as sharp as he was four years prior, has an army alongside him to protect him, and he has homecourt advantage. You can’t beat someone like this by playing it straight. When Doyle arrives, he tries to approach things from a lighter perspective and even seems a bit cheery when meeting his new co-workers and getting a feel for his surroundings. However, he soon finds out that this is another situation where he’s losing and his personal motivation and drive to stop that bastard Charnier refuses to give in this time around. Doyle went far last time, but he still didn’t go far enough. Now, he has a second chance, and he’s going to take it. This brings out the violent Doyle we know in pursuit of the villain who has ruined his life and has been on his mind for the last four years. Breaking the rules is the only way to get him and this is what scares Charnier. He knows Doyle is the only one willing to go that far. He’s not a cop from Marseille. He’s from New York, and New Yorkers play dirty, which is why this is a solid matchup that has continued over all this time.

Now, the other side of this sword is that we don’t see any of the NYC landscapes that defined the first film. France is nice and director John Frankenheimer does a good job showcasing the city of Marseille, but it doesn’t have the gritty vibe the first film had. It’s an energy all its own, but one not as fruitful as what Friedkin did with New York. Plus, Roy Scheider’s absence bothers more than it should. He didn’t take the fight with Charnier nearly as personal as Doyle, so it makes sense as to why Doyle would go all the way to France to stop Charnier without him. In addition, they probably got reassigned because Doyle shot Mulderig, so we imagine there had to have been a falling out of some sort between them. However, Scheider’s Russo was the voice of reason and was such a great partner in assisting Doyle in their adventures that I couldn’t help but think how awesome it would have been if he came with Doyle, though I understand based off of the conclusions already drew. However, at the very least, they could have had Doyle mention him, considering how close they seemed to be all those years ago. Unfortunately, his name is never even uttered. There’s a hugely missed opportunity for character development for Doyle, as well as layers of drama added to make the mission even more important, if there was some sort of personal moment where he admitted to Henri either in their later drunken conversation (or elsewhere) how his “blind rage” pursuit of Charnier cost him his stance in the department and his partner’s trust, but how he’s in too deep to give up on catching Charnier because he cost Doyle everything and he wants revenge. This would have been a powerful way to show us how badly Popeye wants him and how detrimental his pursuit has been and how his own personality and refusal to change has cost him in his professional and personal life.

With the French Connection II, you either love the heroin sequences and subsequent scenes involving Doyle trying to go cold turkey, or you don’t. Some say it drags the film’s momentum down just when it starts getting good, but I thought it was necessary to show the dangers Doyle faces in a foreign country he’s not familiar with and how the odds are stacked against him, despite his usual tough guy antics saving the day in New York. He’s already pressed about the French police department in Marseille and how they handle things, as well as the language barrier and the customs he refuses to conform to in true Popeye fashion, but this is typical fish-out-of-water stuff you would expect in a situation like this. The character needed to see why things are different compared to New York but also why he’s in a much more dangerous situation than before. Here, he’s not the fearless cop who leads the charge because he knows the city like the back of his hand like he was in The French Connection. He’s actually walking into unknown territory in Marseille. Though he retains the same personal qualities and fearlessness in the face of villainy, he’s much more susceptible to danger because he doesn’t know what he’s walking into and only acting by the instincts he picked up while working in NYC for so long.

As Henri says, this isn’t New York. They’re in Marseille, and the character of Jimmy Doyle needs to be shown why.

Getting captured and held as a prisoner shows the hulking, tough guy presence of Doyle in the most vulnerable position we have ever seen him in. It’s actually shocking because we rarely see our movie heroes in unwinnable situations like this, never mind a cop. Charnier throws their usual chess match to the side and goes right to shocking Doyle to his core. I like this for two reasons. The first is because this adds a lot to the development of Charnier. Admittedly, we don’t know a lot about him in the first movie, other than that he’s successful at what he does, he’s powerful because of his wealth, he’s very intelligent as a criminal, and he’s a smug son of a bitch. He’s not bothered by much because he finds a way out of most of the situations that he finds himself in. As I stated in my review of the first movie however, he does see Doyle as a threat despite their limited interactions. Plus, he almost got Charnier. Hell, Doyle is probably the closest ANYONE has ever got to capturing him. Just as things are going smoothly for Charnier and he’s in the middle of another major deal with an American distributor in France, he spots Doyle from his restaurant window and is visibly startled by his presence. Keep in mind, they haven’t seen each other in four years, and they never spoke to each other directly. This is the impression Doyle made, only further proving how close he was to stopping Charnier all those years ago. Doyle was so close he could feel it, which is why he stayed on track in the closing moments of the first movie, despite killing an innocent FBI agent in the crossfire. Sadly, just like that, Charnier was gone. Nevertheless, Charnier seeing Doyle again immediately makes his stomach drop. Though he tries to play it off, we know it bothers him. We’ve all been in a situation similar to his and can tell this look from a mile away.

Charnier knows the game is officially back on.

He knows without a shadow of a doubt that Doyle is only here for him. There is no other possibility. With this, Charnier decides to not waste time and heads straight to the source. He refuses to let Doyle continue with his search and instead chooses the route of showing him the power he possesses firsthand and how this is his city compared to Doyle in New York. It’s a whole different ballgame. To further this startling instance, it shows you where Charnier’s head is at and how he wants this business with Doyle to be over with. This results in our first and only conversation between the two through TWO films. It’s crazy to think about in hindsight, but with how well both films are handled in the manner they are, it’s just enough to keep the special aura around the mysterious Charnier, someone who could have easily turned into a generic villain if given too much dialogue. This showing of power is very important for a character like Charnier to make this never-ending battle between the two something we want to see. We know in a one-on-one fight, Doyle would win. The true battle however is just trying to get to Charnier, which becomes increasingly difficult throughout the series. This is where the excitement of the franchise is, and director John Frankenheimer continues with this theme. It continues the frustrations of our hero because now, he sees Charnier in front of his face, but he can’t do anything about it because he’s surrounded by the kingpin’s henchmen, and he’s handcuffed to the bed. Then, for the next three weeks, they forcefully inject him with heroin until he becomes addicted. When they find out what they want to know (with the only tidbit of information revealed from Popeye is that he was brought in because he’s the only one who recognizes Charnier, which could have been figured out by him anyway), they dump him in front of a roadblock for the cops to scoop him up.

Admittedly, this is my biggest issue with the overall story. The scenes in which Doyle is shot up with heroin and slowly becomes addicted, to the point where he accepts his surroundings and is begging for the needle, whilst forgetting to mark down what day it is, and the subsequent fallout of it all focusing on his serious withdrawal issues, are all incredible scenes phenomenally acted by Hackman. It was Academy Award worthy in itself. The part that bothers me is that they write themselves into a corner when they capture him. They have the hero at his most vulnerable and just give him back. He didn’t pull off this elaborate escape while high or anything. They just cut him loose after getting very basic information from him. Why would they do this knowing Doyle is the threat he is? Charnier is fully aware of what Doyle is capable of. For the first time, he has a chance to end it all right here, but he doesn’t take it. Essentially, he saves his life. His reasoning is that the cops are everywhere looking for him and it makes it difficult to operate, but does it really? Charnier has been operating for years in Marseille, and they don’t even know what he looks like! In addition, he does sell overseas, so if he can’t sell around Marseille, I’m sure the wealthy Charnier can find a new space to continue his business and sell elsewhere. He shouldn’t be worried about the cops in the slightest. At this point in the film, they are ahead by thirty points in a blowout! Plus, they captured the ONE guy who can stop him! It just doesn’t make sense to let him go. The reasoning is weak. In the opening of the first film, he had one of his henchmen kill a detective in Marseille without flinching. Why would he be afraid to kill Popeye? It doesn’t make sense that they would have him in their grips, let him go, and then be surprised he came back with a vengeance.

How would you not see that coming? For such a smart, well-prepared character like Charnier, this is a detrimental, idiotic decision that is almost out of character for him to do.

With that being said, the revival of Doyle when he was at his most helpless state is a defining moment for the film to show Popeye close to being on his deathbed. Again, we have never seen the character so defeated like how he was in the “cold turkey” sequences. It was invigorating. I can’t stress enough how I’m in the camp that loved the addiction/withdrawal scenes. Though I will agree that it slows down the film because it’s a solid portion of the screentime, it’s remarkably done. From the dirty old lady who tells her sob story and steals his watch while he’s being held hostage, to the French cops working their ass off to keep him alive in a spellbinding sequence that feels like you are watching it in real time, we are seeing Jimmy Doyle like we have never seen him before. Hackman is magnificent, especially when he’s suffering from withdrawal. This may sound disrespectful, but I didn’t know he had this in him. Sure, we all know how great of an actor he is, but French Connection II may have been the first viewing experience I’ve had that showcases the all-around talent Hackman is. He’s can do so much more than just play the tough guy asshole we’ve seen him do so many times before. Here, in Doyle’s most vulnerable state, Hackman responds in kind, showing how close Doyle was to dying and acknowledging it. As he angrily asks why Henri didn’t look for him, even though he was, we can see how defenseless our protagonist feels. Begging not to go cold turkey, Doyle is afraid because he knows how tough it is. Henri, playing the role of the aggressor Doyle usually is, forces him to. We do feel bad, but when you take a step back and look at both films, Popeye would do the exact same thing if the roles were reversed. Seeing him react in the manner he does creates this sense of desperation and helplessness the audience would never think they would see their hero in, and it only makes the third act even stronger.

This is why I loved it.

Additionally, we get the outstanding drunk conversation between Doyle and Henri in the closing stages of his recovery where they share a few drinks together, with Hackman again proving his talent level as one of the finer actors of his generation. In an emotional state, Popeye goes through his early life story, telling Henri how he wanted to be a baseball player but lost out because he managed to be on the same team as Mickey Mantle. After crossing other subjects like random terms Henri isn’t familiar with and Whitey Ford, Popeye is brought to tears. Drunk and depressed as ever, Doyle’s innermost emotional thoughts of “What am I doing here?” seem to be boiling to the surface. Talking about what could have happened as a baseball player gives us enough insight into Doyle’s true self and how he actually feels about the severity of their mission. Because of how things turned out in life and how his disastrous trip to France resulted in his current state, it’s as if he’s rethinking everything and looking at himself like he’s a failure and it’s all pouring out at once. He’s looking within for the first time in his life and asking why he’s in this situation he’s in. When looking at the end of the movie, Doyle had to go about things the way he did because it was the vindication that he needed to prove he made the right choice. If he lost again, there’s a good chance he would have ended the film Dirty Harry-style and just tossed his badge into the ocean. This is why he’s motivated and driven more than ever before, reviving the relentlessness he had in the first film for the awesome, heart-pumping third act. His adrenaline carries him for miles in that on-foot chase (he trained like hell right before it, so it makes sense), and the anger (accompanied with that POV shot where he “sees red” while running) and refusal to back off in the face of danger brings out the hero in him, giving us a roundhouse kick of a finish that makes this two-film franchise worth it.

Side note, I loved how the first words coming from Popeye’s mouth after being revived from the overdose was “What are you looking at asshole?”. That’s classic Jimmy Doyle right there.

I was not a fan of Henri’s whole character arc. He’s too up and down throughout the story. At some points, he hates Popeye and at others, he can’t stand him. He’s much more of a hurdle for our protagonist than he should be. Does he need to be that difficult to work with until the third act? Did he need to be that much of a dick until when he finally relents on the one thing Popeye asks of him because he screwed him and admitted it? He did set Doyle up, plain and simple. It’s possible they were trying to make Henri seem like a French version of Popeye and this is why they don’t get along for a majority of the film (because of their similar styles and refusal to listen to others), but it’s not the supporting character Popeye or the film needed. Also, no other character matters outside of Doyle and Charnier. This does hurt the film in some ways and another reason as to why it’s just not the perfect blend the first movie was. Though in their defense, the bar was too high.

Though it’s not as legendary as the first film, French Connection II has a lot of adrenaline-filled action sequences that makes the film just as exhilarating and eventful as the first such as Doyle lying about remembering where the hotel is, burning it, and catching some bad guys because of it (Boy, did that beat down of Charnier’s henchman feel GOOD), and the shootout on the dock resulting in Doyle saving Henri’s life in the midst of the waterfall exploding from the spillways, almost drowning them. The exhaustion from Popeye as he lays in his housecoat on the hotel bed afterwards is as real as it gets. Nevertheless, I disagree with Doyle’s point about how Henri “owes him one” for this and his subsequent attempt to cash-in on it because of his hunch of the Dutch captain staying for a payment from Charnier. If we’re keeping score, Doyle saving Henri makes them even. Henri saved Doyle’s life first with that whole overdosing situation. If anything, they’re square.

I hate that The French Connection didn’t continue on like the Dirty Harry franchise. At the very least, we should have gotten a third film. If French Connection II was any indication, giving the phenomenal Gene Hackman another go-around fighting bad guys as one of our favorite loose cannon cops always generates explosive and dramatic entertainment for the genre. It may not hit on all fronts like the original classic does, but John Frankenheimer does a very good job in recreating the experience in a new location, with just as much hair-raising action, thrills, unpredictable developments, and suspense as William Friedkin did years before.