Quand vient la nuit

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.

"I had something once. I was respected. I was FEARED." Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini in his final performance)

Writer Dennis Lehane knows his neighborhoods, evidenced by his Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River. He's back again but in Brooklyn, not Boston, in The Drop. It's a small movie with some big actors (Tom Hardy as Bob, Noomi Rapace as Nadia, and the late James Gandolfini as Cousin Marv) in a small-time noirish story that has been told many times before: mean streets, laconic heroes, troublesome women, secrets. It's acting that keeps it from being an imitation.

Bob tends bar in Cousin Marv's, which now and then can be a "drop," a designated place on a night when sports-betting money can be deposited and moved for laundering. The short story was called Animal Rescue, an apt title because Bob finds an abused dog , precipitating his connection with Nadia and furthers peripheral action. In reality, it's something for Bob to love, to get him out of himself.

Bob holds tightly to much in both the present and the past. Hardy is a master at revealing little somethings as the camera lovingly holds on to him in close ups. Just as in his brilliant solo act in Locke, Hardy can tell us everything through facial expression and nuanced voice, an artfully minimalist performance that might remind you of Brando without the extreme mumbling.

For those who like their screen romances spare and chaste, this one between Bob and Nadia is a classic of restraint. Director Michael R. Roskam and Lehane want to emphasize the hoodlum motif without mixing in clichéd boy meets girl stuff, and they succeed. The emphasis remains throughout on the claustrophobic bar and the occasional release to the outside, always looping back to Marv's.

For those who like their stories small and their actors big in a world Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon) and Elia Kazan (On the Waterfront) would love, see The Drop.

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.

If you didn't have Tom Hardy on your radar up to this movie, you surely will have him on it after watching this. There is another stellar performance from James Gandolfini, whom regrettably we lost too early, but this is Hardys movie through and through. With Noomi making an impact too as the female lead of the piece.

But while I am excited about the movie and others obviously are too, do not expect this to be a fast paced ride that will be exciting in that style. This is understated and subtle and slow burning. If you can dig that, you will experience a great story, with great characters with some neat surprises along the way. The deliveries are on the money (no pun intended)

"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.