The Drop ? 4 out of 5
James Gandolfini was, and will forever be remembered, as a
fantastic actor. Forgetting for a moment
how amazing he was to watch as the iconic Tony Soprano, the man commanded
attention and it wasn?t unheard of him to steal the film and demand all the
attention?sometimes this worked when he ended up being the only good thing
about some films. Sadly, this is the
last of the films he worked on when he passed and is the last billing his name
saw in his talented life. However, his
is starring with Tom Hardy?so, that?s a pretty epic combination to end on, in
my opinion.
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| That's a lot of talent crammed into one tight corner. |
Bob (Tom Hardy) is a quiet and simple man who works for a
drop bar?a bar that is a point of convergence for money from illicit gains and
is picked up there by some members of a organized crime syndicate?and this bar
was once the property of Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini)?he?s owns it now in
name only as the mobsters are the true owners now. One day, the bar gets robbed?which, in an of
itself, is a stupid move but there seems to be a whole lot more to the robbery
than a couple of simple thugs trying to get some beer money. While this happens, Bob finds himself
connecting with a local girl (Noomi Rapace) over an abandoned dog he found. And, as strange as it all seems, this event
has plenty to do with the robbery that took place?
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| Ever since Prometheus, Rapace is always on the lookout for angry fanboys. |
I really enjoy Tom Hardy and I already gave a gushing
insight to how I feel about the late great Gandolfini in the opening paragraph,
so when these two meet in a single film, I?m pretty much sold. Don?t bother showing me a trailer, just give
me a quick summary of what it is about?hell, lie to me what it is about?and
I?ll watch the damn thing. And, I have
to say, The Drop is a great crime drama with some absolutely tremendous
performances.
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| Man, that mobster can tie the fuck out of tie. That knot is flawless. |
The story to The Drop isn?t too complicated but it was
really good at keeping me glued to the screen.
At first, the whole aspect of Bob finding a dog and using it to connect
with Noomi Rapace?s character sorta feels out of place and I started to wonder
what exactly the dog and Rapace?s character played. Without spoiling anything (we know how the
internet hates spoilers), they in fact play a very important role and all the
characters and their plotlines connect at the end but, more importantly, was
how this element played on the themes of the film?themes like keeping secrets
and hidden pasts.
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| Garbage dogs...so clich?. |
Bob is a very quiet, unassuming character who, a little bit,
comes off a little simple. However, the
ending shows he is a lot more?after all, mysterious pasts are the name of the
game in this film. One of the strongest
aspects in the story was seeing how Nadia (Rapace) dealt with when she learned
what Bob is exactly capable of. This
ends up playing very well with the kindness he shows the dog and what he will
do to protect both the dog and Nadia.
Bob?s loyalty is another theme the film showcases and it showcases it
very well.
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| It looks like her sweater is trying to quietly sneak away. |
And since I?m talking about Bob, I?ll talk about Tom Hardy?s
performance. Hardy is an actor that, no
matter what project he is on, I will go out of my way to watch said
project. Every film I watch him in I
praise his seamless talent and the way he is able to absolutely submerge himself
into the character he is playing and, once again, he has surprised me with how
talented he is. Like I said, Bob seems like
a simple character who might not have all the bulbs on his Christmas light
string all lit up and it was such a stark contrast to the strong characters
that I?m quick to think of when I think of Hardy (I?ll be honest, I think Bane,
Bronson, his charismatic performance in Inception, and his role in Warrior
first with Hardy before I think about him in something like Locke?even though I
loved Locke). And since he is so
ridiculously talented, Hardy pulls this off and I forget that one time he was
beating the shit out of Batman while talking in a voice I can?t help but
imitate to total strangers.
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| "What are you thinking about?" |
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| "Oh, nothing. Just breaking the Batman and stuff." |
Honestly, all the performances in the film were great and
that?s not really a surprise considering the cast. Rapace plays tremendously well in her scenes
with Hardy and Gandolfini is, once again, awesome to watch. Cousin Marv might not be as unique as the
character of Bob and is, usually, a man of few words, Gandolfini makes him a
character to watch because the dude could speak volumes without saying a single
goddamn word. The defeat that Marv feels
for being a lackey to the mob in a bar that was once his is palpable and
Gandolfini represents in in spades. This
also leads to a great monologue from the man where he rants about how he was
once respected and feared and now he?s nothing.
While this role won?t be as memorable to me as some of his other later
roles (like his great performance in the romcom Enough Said) it?s still a damn
fine role to be credited as your final appearance. Rest in peace, good sir!
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| Good night, sweet prince. |
The Drop isn?t flashy, the reveal isn?t some jaw-dropping
twist, and the film doesn?t have much replay value beyond a viewing here and
there but the film has a great, well executed story, interesting characters,
and tremendous acting.
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