“The French Connection” (1971) made its thematic point: All that work by Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) and other cops, and — while some drugs are removed from NYC streets — the worldwide operation continues undaunted. In an Oscar-winning film with a message, you’d think that purposely unsatisfying yet impactful ending would stand as the final statement.
The point’s been made, but the plot thickens
But, in a rare move for a movie that’s more artistic than blockbuster-y, it does have a sequel, “French Connection II” (1975). Taking over for William Friedkin, director John Frankenheimer has, as one would expect, a thankless task. No shower of awards for this one, but whatever it loses in popcorn entertainment, it wins back by showing the incredibly high personal price of the Drug War for the obsessive Doyle.
It’s not often that someone wins Best Actor for a role then returns with a better performance and isn’t even nominated, but Hackman pulls it off. He’s especially stunning in the middle sequence where the drug dealers – led by Charnier (the returning Fernando Rey) – shoot Doyle up with heroin to get information from him and get him off the case.
“French Connection II” (1975)
Director: John Frankenheimer
Writers: Alexander Jacobs, Robert Dillon, Laurie Dillon
Stars: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson
That’s followed by an equally harrowing stretch where Marseille police chief Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson) nurses Doyle back to health by making him go cold turkey in a dungeon-like room. Doyle’s dark moments of babbling about baseball are simultaneously difficult to watch (as we feel for Doyle) and mesmerizing (as Hackman delivers a tour de force).
Frankenheimer and his three writers craft a grittier sequel with less mass appeal; ironically, it seems more like something awards panels would like. We learn more of the logistics of how Charnier’s drugs move around the world, and — while Doyle was not employee of the month in NYC — his situation is worse in France. While it’s true that Doyle moves about like he owns the world, he is a fish out of water in Marseille.
Lost in translation
Frankenheimer takes his time illustrating how Doyle is a stranger here. As with the original, the French dialog is not subtitled. Barthélémy and cop Miletto (Charles Millot) speak some English, but Doyle’s isolation never goes away. His ladies’ man status is erased by the language barrier; two young women in a bar are awkwardly annoyed by his aim to share drinks. (Granted, he does pick up a beach volleyball girl somehow, but that happens off screen.)
The 1971 film boasts Popeye’s reckless drive through NYC, and “French Connection II” doesn’t have anything that’s talked about as much. But this is no easy-street sequel; money gets spent. A dock shootout is interrupted by a dam releasing its overflow, and in the biggest “wow” sequence, Doyle burns down a building while claiming to be a “rat” exterminator.
The sequel supplies Hackman with almost as many hard-a** one-liners as the original, but dare I say it’s a more illuminating character piece? With Roy Scheider to bounce off of, the ’71 film sets the template for buddy-cop actioners. Even if it always stays well above the level of that future shlock, “French Connection” aims to entertain.
In “French Connection II,” Hackman has no sounding board. Barthélémy is never on the same page as Doyle, as per the barriers of language and France’s leisurely way of doing things. Barthélémy never understands Doyle. Most moviegoers won’t relate to him, either.
Thanks to Hackman, he’s still fun to watch. And thanks to solid overall filmmaking, we’re still unconvinced that Doyle’s reckless heroism is the best approach for tackling a drug epidemic, yet we’re stunned by what he goes through. We want him to win because he’s working so damn hard that he deserves it. The first film hits like a back-alley brawl, the sequel like a daytime bullet.