The Drop (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'The Drop', a gangster drama directed by Belgian, Michael R. Roskam (Bullhead), is drenched in moody atmosphere, bathed in a brooding palette of dread, and makes sure we know that some baaaaaad things will be happening to our menagerie of morally-ambiguous characters. The story revolves around Bob Saginowski (the exceptional Tom Hardy), a slow-witted, soft-hearted simpleton who tends bar in a Brooklyn pub that used to be owned by his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini in, sadly, his final role), a large, lumbering man who's pissed that his better days are clearly behind him. Marv still runs the place, but he's begrudgingly doing so on behalf of the violent Chechen gangsters who bought him out 8 yrs. prior. The Chechens run most of the bars in the area and uses Marv's as a "drop bar", where thick envelopes of $$ from the gangsters' other activities are funneled in for eventual pickup.
One night, 2 amateur thugs rob the bar, unflinching when Marv asks them, "You know whose $$ you're jacking here?". Afterwards, the Chechens tell Marv they want their $5,000 back, and they want to find the robbers -- their investigatory methods are far more blunt & bloody than any local detective could do. As is his M.O., Bob keeps his head down & sticks to his usual line, "Hey, I just tend the bar". With all this going on, Bob also meets Nadia (Noomi Rapace, of Sweden's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo & Prometheus) when he finds an abandoned pitbull puppy in her trash can {she didn't put him there}. Bob & Nadia enter a pleasant, intially-platonic relationship which raises the hackles of her psychopathic ex-con/ex-boyfriend, Eric Deeds (Belgian Bullhead star, Matthias Schoenaerts), who boasts of having killed a guy 10 yrs. ago. For several reasons, Deeds is ready to blackmail and 'mess' with Bob ... but Nadia suspects that there's something more than meets the eye about Bob and his sweet, gentle soul. He may love puppies but, perhaps he shouldn't be someone to 'mess' with.
Novelist Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island) wrote the screenplay here, adapting his own short story, "Animal Rescue". The plot is fine; your standard gangster tale of woe amidst the shadowy, rain-slickened city streets. But what raises 'The Drop' to a whole other level is Lehane's hard-boiled dialogue (Gandolfini's late-breaking lament about his once-great reputation in the neighborhood, "When I walked into a place, people sat up straight. They noticed. I was respected. I was feared. And that meant something."), Roskam's assured direction (love the small details, like the fact that Bob lives alone in his deceased parents' home where their funeral mass cards are still prominently displayed ... he obviously has a hard time coping with their absence), & most of all ... a strong cast.
One more word on the script/direction of these characters: these are not people who need to say much for us to understand their fears, sadness, regrets, & rage. These are people who talk/infer/react with their eyes & their general body language. If something bad is happening down the street, they look elsewhere. If someone is making a thinly-veiled threat that's laced with a smile ... these characters' facial reactions are worth more than 1,000 words. 'The Drop' is filled with many such moments where there's much more going on beyond the exchanges of dialogue (very little is said, but a lot is understood). And on a thematic level, I like that 'The Drop' is a gritty film about the nature of damaged people and how sudden bursts of violence can define someone for a lifetime.
Tom Hardy, so good in this yr.'s Locke, impresses again {when hasn't he?} as our protagonist Bob. We think we know who he is, but everyone has secrets. His Bob Saginowski doesn't say much, he doesn't have many friends, & the barflies are amused when they hear he might have a girlfriend ... but he is not someone to be underestimated. Yet, despite that, we still empathize with him. Tom Hardy is so good here; I could watch him in anything. As mentioned above, this is James Gandolfini's last performance and, though the role isn't as challenging as one would like, he lends a wonderfully realistic portrayal. He creates layers to his performance; whether agitatedly answering his sister's (Ann Dowd) miniscule question about dinner, or refusing to look inside a trash bag that contains bad news.
Another role that lacks some dimension is Nadia's, but Noomi Rapace gives it her all; the spectrum of emotions that run across her face during the climax (and fall-out after the climax) is astounding. And Matthias Schoenaerts (SO good in Bullhead and Rust & Bone) inflects an impeccable Brooklyn accent (like the director, he's from Belgium), and knows how to play an excellent lunatic. If you see him walking down the street, you'd be quick to walk in the other direction. So yeah, while the movie isn't an OMG-Best-Movie-Ever masterpiece, its solid gangster story is amplified by the pungent dialogue, enticingly somber mood, & superlative performances. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that an adorable pit bull puppy takes up a hefty portion of screen time.
One night, 2 amateur thugs rob the bar, unflinching when Marv asks them, "You know whose $$ you're jacking here?". Afterwards, the Chechens tell Marv they want their $5,000 back, and they want to find the robbers -- their investigatory methods are far more blunt & bloody than any local detective could do. As is his M.O., Bob keeps his head down & sticks to his usual line, "Hey, I just tend the bar". With all this going on, Bob also meets Nadia (Noomi Rapace, of Sweden's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo & Prometheus) when he finds an abandoned pitbull puppy in her trash can {she didn't put him there}. Bob & Nadia enter a pleasant, intially-platonic relationship which raises the hackles of her psychopathic ex-con/ex-boyfriend, Eric Deeds (Belgian Bullhead star, Matthias Schoenaerts), who boasts of having killed a guy 10 yrs. ago. For several reasons, Deeds is ready to blackmail and 'mess' with Bob ... but Nadia suspects that there's something more than meets the eye about Bob and his sweet, gentle soul. He may love puppies but, perhaps he shouldn't be someone to 'mess' with.
Novelist Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island) wrote the screenplay here, adapting his own short story, "Animal Rescue". The plot is fine; your standard gangster tale of woe amidst the shadowy, rain-slickened city streets. But what raises 'The Drop' to a whole other level is Lehane's hard-boiled dialogue (Gandolfini's late-breaking lament about his once-great reputation in the neighborhood, "When I walked into a place, people sat up straight. They noticed. I was respected. I was feared. And that meant something."), Roskam's assured direction (love the small details, like the fact that Bob lives alone in his deceased parents' home where their funeral mass cards are still prominently displayed ... he obviously has a hard time coping with their absence), & most of all ... a strong cast.
One more word on the script/direction of these characters: these are not people who need to say much for us to understand their fears, sadness, regrets, & rage. These are people who talk/infer/react with their eyes & their general body language. If something bad is happening down the street, they look elsewhere. If someone is making a thinly-veiled threat that's laced with a smile ... these characters' facial reactions are worth more than 1,000 words. 'The Drop' is filled with many such moments where there's much more going on beyond the exchanges of dialogue (very little is said, but a lot is understood). And on a thematic level, I like that 'The Drop' is a gritty film about the nature of damaged people and how sudden bursts of violence can define someone for a lifetime.
Tom Hardy, so good in this yr.'s Locke, impresses again {when hasn't he?} as our protagonist Bob. We think we know who he is, but everyone has secrets. His Bob Saginowski doesn't say much, he doesn't have many friends, & the barflies are amused when they hear he might have a girlfriend ... but he is not someone to be underestimated. Yet, despite that, we still empathize with him. Tom Hardy is so good here; I could watch him in anything. As mentioned above, this is James Gandolfini's last performance and, though the role isn't as challenging as one would like, he lends a wonderfully realistic portrayal. He creates layers to his performance; whether agitatedly answering his sister's (Ann Dowd) miniscule question about dinner, or refusing to look inside a trash bag that contains bad news.
Another role that lacks some dimension is Nadia's, but Noomi Rapace gives it her all; the spectrum of emotions that run across her face during the climax (and fall-out after the climax) is astounding. And Matthias Schoenaerts (SO good in Bullhead and Rust & Bone) inflects an impeccable Brooklyn accent (like the director, he's from Belgium), and knows how to play an excellent lunatic. If you see him walking down the street, you'd be quick to walk in the other direction. So yeah, while the movie isn't an OMG-Best-Movie-Ever masterpiece, its solid gangster story is amplified by the pungent dialogue, enticingly somber mood, & superlative performances. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that an adorable pit bull puppy takes up a hefty portion of screen time.