The Drop (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 126 minutes
Directed by: Michaël R. Roskam
Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Michael Aronov, Morgan Spector, Michael Esper
KRS Releasing Ltd

Tom Hardy is Bob Saginowski, a bartender in a Brooklyn bar. His cousin Marv (James Gandolfini), who was once the bar’s owner, also works in the bar. Marv still manages the place but ownership has been handed over to Chovka (Michael Aronov), a Chechen gangster who uses the bar to drop off money made through illegal activities. Bob makes sure to distance himself from this illegal aspect and also keep on the good side of the tracks.

When he sees an ill-treated puppy in a trash can, he ends up taking it with him. Nadia (Noomi Rapace), a waitress in whose trash can the dog had been left, does not know the puppy’s background. She ends up making friends with Bob and even becomes his dog sitter.

At one point the bar suffers a robbery which leaves a man injured and attracts the attention of detective Torres (John Ortiz). Bob says he knows nothing and keeps on lying when he is queried about Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts), a local criminal who has a murderous past and who is taking an interest in Bob’s dog.

Meanwhile, Chovka is not happy about this trouble and the fact that it is his money that was stolen. Marv is seemingly involved but he does not say all the truth. Meanwhile, the Superbowl is near and a big drop is planned that could bring a lot of interests and hard cases to bear.

This adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel has so many good elements to it, and flows so smoothly that it is very easy not to notice how solid and strong the craftsmanship at the heart of this movie actually is.

Not least of all, the acting turnouts should be the envy of many a film-maker. Everything revolves around Hardy. The actor, who propelled such films as Locke, Bronson and was so character-ful in The Dark Knight Rises, brings into play a raw physical presence that makes him the right choice on which to base the movie’s proceedings.

But all the characters, who have different values, interact, decide and move in ways that are so very realistic.

The story is set in a world where everything can happen, but the probability is that what happens will be bad. We feel and are aware that nothing in this film is safe, and that danger lurks at every corner. Shades and shadows seem to be everywhere, and director Michael R. Roskam seems to enjoy himself keeping everything on a tight leash, increasing the tension to let it seep off screen.

Hardy’s performance is again understated and yet measured. Gandolfini, in what I believe is his final screen presence, delivers an acting performance that on paper could have been reminiscent of The Sopranos. However, he turns the tables on expectations as he is full of darkness and rancour, and this makes him an even tougher screen proposition. Rapace is also strong in her earthy approach to acting.

The Drop develops its story slowly but then turns into a complex and multi-layered reality. It is chockful of atmosphere and the environment becomes another actor.

The camerawork serves in building and solidifying the film’s structure while grabbing and tugging for your attention like an unruly child. One can feel the gangster movie genre being stretched and restructured in The Drop as it constantly ups the ante in what is a very brooding and unusual film.