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The Drop (2014)

A solid, somewhat slow but never tedious look inside some small time crooks who own a bar in the City. This one is a drop for payments in a booking racket, and the bar owner (James Gandolfini) sort of goes along because he has no choice. The bartender (Tom Hardy) is far more ambiguous, and he makes the movie click. Add Noomi Rapace whose small role fills in a big gap rather well and you have the core of the cast, all excellent.

There is no attempt at the grandiose here, despite all the history and slightly exaggerated characters involved (mostly bad ones). And that's the beauty of the movie, which manages not just realism but a welcome tenderness amidst all the darkness and bad intentions. The one bright spot is, tragically, Gandolfini, who manages to be really funny even as he about to do terrible things. Hardy is just the opposite, showing a huge heart with utter sobriety even as he, too, is going to do terrible things.

Whether this quite rises above the many movies that dive into this kind of world I don't know, but I thoroughly enjoyed it even when it seemed to get slow. It doesn't plod, but it has no urgency, either. There are some clichés that might have been avoided (the attitude of the bad guys) and some violence that seemed a bit in your face, but it balances out, too. Rapace is not given enough to do—this is a man's movie, another one —but she is tough and smart in necessary ways.

Well filmed, smartly done, I'd give this a look.

"I just tend the bar," Bob Saginowski innocently states in this under- the-radar gem of a film. Tom Hardy plays Bob, a quiet, reserved bartender at his cousin Marv's bar. Cousin Marv is played by James Gandolfini in his final role. The Drop is getting a lot of attention because of Gandolfini, who gives another memorable performance, but The Drop is much more than an opportunity to see one our generation's greatest actors one last time, it's one of the best films of the year.

In The Drop, Marv owns a local neighborhood bar that also happens to be a "drop bar", which means the bar essentially collects money from illegal betting and god knows what else and then delivers it to the local Chechen gang. Gandolfini plays Marv as a Tony Soprano that never was. A guy that tried to get into the game, but couldn't really cut it when the big guys came into town. Those "big guys" are the Chechen mob that have taken over Marv's bar. It's his bar in name only and he's relegated to serving drinks and cleaning up spills. Gandolfini plays Marv as a bitter, beaten down man. It's vintage Gandolfini and a perfect way to end a career that was cut way too short.

As one actor takes his final bow, it's another actor who officially arrives. The Drop is clearly Tom Hardy's film. Granted, Hardy certainly hasn't come out of no where. He burst on the mainstream scene with Inception and should have become a household name after his performance as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. He didn't, and I'm not really sure why. He seemingly has everything you'd want in a leading man.

Hardy's performance in The Drop should finally change that. I know it's early, but it's Oscar worthy. Hardy plays Bob with such an authentic nature that it's downright astounding. He really inhabits this character. Bob seems to take everything in stride, nothing seems to bother him. When he is confronted by the Chechen mobsters, he keeps his head down and chooses every word with precision, knowing that his life depends on it. Bob is non-threatening and unassuming and almost comes off as simple-minded, but as the film progresses, it's clear something is brewing beneath the surface. Bob is an example of a guy who is a product of his environment. He's a good man that doesn't really have a choice in life. He either adapts to survive or dies.

Bob also has a big heart as is evidenced when he rescues a puppy that has been beaten and literally thrown in the trash. This is where he meets Nadia, played by Noomi Rapace (Prometheus). Nadia is also reserved and seems wounded in some way. It makes sense that The Drop is written by Dennis Lahane (writer of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Shutter Island) who adapted the film from his short story "Animal Rescue," a title with more than one meaning. Not only does Bob rescue an injured dog, but both he and Nadia seem like animals that need rescuing in one way or another.

The Drop is the kind of film that Hollywood just doesn't make anymore. It really does feel like it was ripped right out of the 80's. It has a slow, deliberate pace that perfectly builds suspense. The Drop is a character driven film that constructs each scene with great dialogue and fantastic acting. The director allows his characters to inhabit the world they live in. It's the wardrobe and the set design that really help bring everything together and add to the authenticity of the film. Everything seems organic and not like it's part of a movie set.

The Drop is a film lovers film. It has everything you could possibly ask for: a top notch cast, great direction, dialogue, set design, cinematography, and an understated score. You name it, and The Drop has it. It's easily one of my favorite films of the year. We need more films like The Drop. Go see it.

The Drop appears as a crime thriller, taking its audience to a gritty life of gangsters hiding their dirty money in drop bars, but this is mostly a drama about a lone bartender thinking on living a different path apart from his cousin's. It also involves a subplot of a man trying to retain his already faded glory. But there is a deadlier conflict lurking in the dark. There isn't much remarkably grand to be found in this story, but telling the details of the characters' past and waiting for the impending danger behind their backs instantly makes it compelling. It benefits by being low-key, but still far from classic. In any way this is still one fine basic crime drama.

This is a story where you find no heroes. Bob is basically not the kind of person anyone would fear. In spite of his reserve and kinder personality towards people, you may not know that he is still a tough fellow since he's been adapted into this mess. Things get lighter when he adopts a dog, meets a new friend and starts a relationship, thinking that his life would change for a bit. Once the real threat appears into this small side of his world, we expect him to protect them from harm, but this is not one of those glossy heroic deeds that lead to some action set piece. The thrills are simply calm and with that calmness, you can sense more of the danger coming after himself and his loved ones. If there is one thing we've learn about gangsters in great crime movies then that is how unpredictable they are at killing. That is how often the movie displays its suspense.

The story relies to many backstories within its main characters and we could easily comprehend those on their conversations and their lifestyle. The cast helps making these characters engaging, with Tom Hardy layering coldness above Bob's remaining humanity. The late James Gandolfini does beyond brooding, you can feel the character's despair from his old days. Anything else, the actor did what he does best. Noomi Rapace makes for a likable backup for Hardy. And Matthias Schoenaerts is effectively threatening. These performances just live up to the depth of what's written for these characters.

The Drop is plain simple, that the only value it provides to its audience is some entertaining cluster with the stars like Hardy, Gandolfini, and Rapace, and some grounded tension. This won't end up being one of the greats since it doesn't actually satisfy in whatever happens in the end, but this is already an interesting study of a corrupt lifestyle at the streets of Brooklyn, with people hiding their own dirty secrets and facing some uncertain consequences. That alone could bring a fine recommendation to this movie.

Michael R. Roskam burst onto the scene a few years back with "Bullhead" which was deservedly nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In his first English language, American film, Roskam works with a script by the great author Dennis Lehane to tell the story of Brooklyn bartender Bob, waitress Nadia, has-been Cousin Marv, and the mysterious Eric Deeds.

The plot of "The Drop" has been done before to various degrees, and Lehane's script was surprisingly predictable. Although the material wasn't particularly fresh, the actors and a few strong scenes make it worthwhile.

Hardy, although a bit inconsistent, delivers a quietly great performance. You just want to give the guy a hug. Gandolfini is unsurprisingly fantastic in his final big screen performance. He plays to perfection a middle aged has-been that's ticked off with what his life has become. The direction they took with his character was predictable and left me very disappointed, but I'm happy that his last performance was this good. Noomi Rapace arguably gave the best performance in the film, and probably the best supporting actress I've seen so far this year. She does a great job playing a damaged woman trying to lead a good life, and her scenes with Hardy (and the dog!) are some of the best of the movie. Schoenaerts (who was sensational in Roskam's Bullhead) is good, but not given too much to do with a one-dimensional character. And the dog! Rocco! One of the all-time great dog performances in my opinion.

The movie is also really funny at times (mainly Gandolfini in the first half hour and Hardy with the dog). It drags a bit at times, and like I said above the script could have been a lot better.... but it's still a very good movie that easily could have been a great one with a few changes. I'll still see it again, and I'm sure it will stay in my top 10 of the year.

And as a huge fan of James Gandolfini, I'm sad to say this is the last time we'll ever see him on the big screen. But I'm happy that Roskam did him justice with one last great performance. RIP to one of the all-time greats.

There are a lot of films that fall into the same sort of "ilk" in the sense that when we watch a particular movie, it gives us the same feel as others we have seen before it. This can be a reason why someone really enjoys it or gives the pretentious "it wasn't very original" remark that makes you never watch a movie with that fool again. "The Drop" brings out similar feelings, primarily because it has the feel of many other works of the author (and writer of the script) Dennis Lehane who is famous for works such as "Mystic River", "Shutter Island", and "Gone Baby Gone". Right away you get a feel for those previous works as we are again introduced to a gritty, seedy, and corrupt underbelly of a big city environment that introduces us to a bunch of low lifes who are caught up in doing the wrong things just to "make something of themselves".

What makes "The Drop" different from some of these other films is that these are different characters compared to what we're used to. No one seems to be a big talker and we can tell that all of these characters are more than meets the eye and carry significant baggage from a checkered past. Most films that deal organized crime and other things ask us to witness the violence that just seems to "come with the territory" so to speak with it. This film asks us instead to imagine the potential for violence in a man and how brief releases of that violence can affect how these characters live their lives in the future. There are moments of violence and bloodshed, but they come in such short and intense instances that they hit you harder then violence might normally would in another film of this sort. You believe that any of these characters is capable of beating another ones head in and when something of that sort actually happens, it sticks with you and has a lasting effect that carries throughout the remainder of the film.

The story follows Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) and his Cousin Marv (the last film of the late James Gandolfini) who run what's known as a drop bar which simply mean that they serve as a place where mobsters leave large amounts of illegal money to pick up at a later date. Cousin Marv used to be a man of his own power in the organized crime world and briefly had his own crew before he was pushed aside by an incoming Chechen gang and now he just manages the bar with Bob. 10 years has passed sense this change but Marv is still as bitter as ever about his position in life. Gandolfini excels in roles like this for so many reasons. Of course we see a little Tony Soprano in Cousin Marv but he brings so much else to this role from his tone of voice, expression with his eyes, and physical presence that makes the performance that much more captivating. It's great to watch him be able to display that intimidation factor as the "tough guy" that Marv wants to be seen as, as well as the fear and weakness that really exists in his heart.....all being shown through his eyes. It's the kind of performance that has a low-key profoundness that makes you hope the academy rewards a posthumous Oscar nomination.

Hardy is no less brilliant here as the quiet and mysterious Bob. Bob is not a big talker and just lives quietly in his own little bubble tending bar and handling the drop. His life is changed when he finds a wounded puppy in the trash can outside of the damaged Nadiya's (Noomi Rapace) house. They both decide to take care of the dog together as a potential budding romance threatens to grow. Bob has almost an instant connection with the dog, a young pitbull, and you begin to notice similarities between the two as the film progresses. Bob makes a comment that a pitbull is a "dangerous dog" which is true, but almost seems impossible to think when you see them as puppies. Bob can be looked at the same way as the puppy in the sense of he seems harmless but there is the potential for danger and violence deep inside both of them. I've always found it amazing how well British actors can master American accents compared to the other way around. Hardy especially is a master of accents and the way he handles his blue collar, Brooklyn speak is amazing to watch as we follow the mysterious Bob throughout the film, always wondering what he is thinking and what he really is about.

The other stand out performance in the film comes from Matthias Shoenaerts as the loose cannon, Eric Deeds. Shoenaerts brings a level of intensity that is so palpable that you often become uneasy when he is on screen. He spends the majority of the film claiming that Bob's new dog is his and that he wants him back, as we all are questioning what he is really after. Shoenaerts is a rising star for sure and I can't wait to see him continue to show what he's capable of a bigger stage.

In the end, "The Drop" is most likely going to be one of those early fall gems that falls by the wayside after a few weeks in theaters and is unfortunately forgotten about due to poor marketing. However, it also could be one of those small festival films that develops a cult following after people realize how good it is for being a slightly slower paced thriller that delivers great performances and a good story. In a way, that almost fits perfectly into the makeup of these characters who live in this world. Great and powerful things in small and low-key packages