 The Drop is a new crime drama from Michal R. Roskam, the Academy Award nominated director of Bullhead. Based on a screenplay from Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), The Drop follows lonely bartender Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) through a covert scheme of funneling cash to local gangsters -- "money drops" -- in the underworld of Brooklyn bars. Under the heavy hand of his employer and cousin Marv (James Gandolfini), Bob finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living -- no matter the cost. Storyline: Follows lonely bartender Bob Saginowski through a covert scheme of funneling cash to local gangsters - "money drops" - in the underworld of Brooklyn bars. Under the heavy hand of his employer and cousin Marv, Bob finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost. Written by Polly_Kat Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, January 22, 2015 -- The short story upon which The Drop is based is called "Animal Rescue," and while the title is probably intentionally ironic, referring as much to a character's unexpected feral tendencies as it does to a battered Pit Bull pup he finds abandoned in a garbage can, there's little doubt that the dog, ultimately given the name Rocco, provides (again, somewhat ironically) a humanizing element for a character virtually neck deep in a morass of mobsters, distrust and unease. Dennis Lehane, author of the short story and also of the screenplay for this film, is used to trafficking in blue collar angst, as Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone attest. (Shutter Island would seem to be the odd man out in this regard, but even writers need a break from working class woes.) Lehane's approach in The Drop is a sometimes odd feeling combination of so-called "kitchen sink drama" with a more traditional if rather discursive thriller element which sucks up a handful of characters in a tale of duplicity, back stabbing (and/or other bodily mayhem) and, ultimately, perhaps a hint of redemption. The film is notable for providing James Gandolfini with his last feature film role, that of Cousin Marv, a brusque, no nonsense manager of an eponymous bar where seemingly dim witted Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) works as a bartender. The film opens with a bit of narration by Bob, which in and of itself seems to suggest that the film is going to be told resolutely from Bob's point of view. While that may be more or less how things pan out, it's instructive to note that Bob is not all he seems at first glance, and that this supposed narrated window into his soul masks at least one (literal?) skeleton in his closet. That opening narration gives a quick overview of some of the seedier neighborhoods in Brooklyn, one of which houses Cousin Marv's equally forlorn bar. While Marv is the ostensible owner of the establishment, it is eventually detailed that the real power behind the supposed throne is the Chechen mob, which uses a variety of similar places to temporarily store their ill gotten gains, so-called "dirty money" which can't be deposited in a bank (why it can't is never really explained). Cousin Marv's is just one of several places used as a "drop," a short term holding facility for the loot which is then passed on to wherever it goes next (the film also doesn't really get into this detail, either). Because Bob seems rather simple minded, the clear implication is that he's a patsy of sorts, unaware of the wheeling and dealing in which Marv is complicit. The crime aspect takes a temporary back seat when Bob is on his way home one night and hears a faint whimpering sound emanating from the front yard of a dilapidated tenement. Poking around, Bob discovers a badly beaten Pit Bull pup in the garbage can, at which point he's confronted by Nadia (Noomi Rapace), a gun brandishing tenant who snaps a picture of Bob with her phone, demands to see his ID and quickly informs him she's already sent his picture to four of her friends, just in case he has any ulterior motives. Bob is all about the dog, though he's too concerned about the "commitment" it's going to take to raise the little pup, leading him to foist the canine off on Nadia, at least temporarily. A romance between Bob and Nadia is facilitated by Rocco, but a stranger accosts Bob one day and claims the dog is his. That guy turns out to be Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts), a character who ends up having an improbable number of connections to both Nadia and Marv. While part of this is set up with Rocco having been found in Nadia's garbage can (presumably where Eric stuffed him), the screenplay stretches the interwoven strands here to about their breaking point. Though presented in a surprisingly lowkey manner, the film's crime story ends up having some interesting twists, in fact so much so that the trials with Rocco and Nadia almost seem like an interruption at times. It's obvious that Lehane and director Michaël Roskam want to offer at least a hint of salvation in the film's closing moments (note how it's presented aurally, in fact, as if to make it more ephemeral). However, the bulk of the film offers a pretty relentlessly dour view of an assortment of characters in crisis, perhaps making the potential saving grace that comes too little and too late. Hardy does more fantastic work here offering an opening quality for Bob which is at best naivete, and then managing a nicely nuanced turn later in the proceedings. Gandolfini is stuck with a kind of one note role, a bully and machinating would be mobster. But he has some standout scenes with Hardy which are both tough and humorous. Rapace is a bit more tamped down here portraying a woman who exudes a brusque toughness only to cover up scars from a bad relationship. The ambience of the film is very gritty and urban in the most stultifying way. I guess if at least some of the characters can get to a halfway happy ending there, they can make it anywhere. Maybe the biggest issue with The Drop is that it seems to want to stuff a message into a tale of corruption and duplicity, but about the best it can come up with is "cold blooded killers have a softer side, too, y'know." The film is full of great little character moments, but that doesn't necessarily mean they all add up into a completely integrated whole. The film offers another great showcase for Hardy, and Gandolfini is fine in a kind of limited but enjoyable final film role. There's a palpable claustrophobia to The Drop that strangely helps the film get through some of its less credible moments. Technical merits are strong, there are some good supplements, and The Drop comes Recommended. [CSW] -3.9- This movie builds slowly, so do not give up on it. This dark, gritty film will become (at least) a cult classic. Nadia (Noomi Rapace) is central to the plot. A tour de force by Bob (Ton Hardy), as this could have easily been overplayed or underplayed, yet he found just that sweet spot to stay in. Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) delivers another great performance-what a loss his death was. There is a lot of good acting in this by a lot of good actors, as the plot moves toward a resolution of who is stealing money from the bar and what will the Chechen mob owners of the bar do to get even. The journey is worth it but the question is, will you see the end coming? You tell me. Cast Notes: Tom Hardy (Bob), Noomi Rapace (Nadia), James Gandolfini (Cousin Marv), Matthias Schoenaerts (Eric Deeds), John Ortiz (Detective Torres), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Detective Romsey), Michael Aronov (Chovka), Morgan Spector (Andre), Michael Esper (Rardy), Ross Bickell (Father Regan), James Frecheville (Fitz), Tobias Segal (Briele), Patricia Squire (Millie), Ann Dowd (Dottie), Chris Sullivan (Jimmy). IMDb Rating (02/09/15): 7.1/10 from 52,103 users
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