tom hahdy

A man of few words and many discerning glances, Bob (Tom Hardy) tends the bar at a neighborhood pub often used by the mob to store their dirty money. The bar is named after Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini), a hard man gone soft and exhausted who lost control of the business a decade ago. In regard to its storyline, The Drop is set in motion by a pair of events. One is Bob finding, nursing, and adopting an abused dog. The other is two armed, disguised men stealing $5,000 from the bar. The film's most potent pleasures, however, do not stem from its storyline, however involving, but rather its ace acting and the authentic, intricate tapestry of urban camaraderie and dangerous secrets.

Hardy truly is a fascinating actor, capable of transitioning from sensitivity to ferocity with amazing speed and dexterity. He expertly plays Bob as an unfolding mystery of a man. Is he dim or simply guarded? Is he nonviolent or rather very in control of his more intense impulses? It is riveting to watch Hardy reveal the character bit by bit, building to a memorable third-act confrontation with a sadistic local thug (played by another capable and well-built brooder, Matthias Schoenaerts of Rust and Bone fame). As Cousin Marv, Gandolfini shines in his final screen performance. The scenes in which he pines for a time when other men feared and respected him are particularly poignant. The performance plays as a more muted and wistful variation on the late actor's incendiary portrayal of a burned-out, boozy hit man in Killing Them Softly.

A-

B-

Color me disappointed. The film felt kind of disjointed. And I am not sure whether it was the unfortunate German dubbing or whether Tom Hardy's character was supposed to come across as slightly mentally retarded. That was my impression anyway. Gandolfini's role had terrific potential to be a great swan song, but I vastly preferred him playing against type in Enough Said.

The Drop is not a film without strengths, mind you. I enjoyed the final twist and the director captured Brooklyn really well on camera. But overall the film felt very much run-of-the-mill and captivated me much less than any other Dennis Lehane adaption before it.

He seemed dumb even when he revealed himself in the end. Might have been the dubbing. He sounded like a retard.

The Drop

I really wanted to like this, but it just has too many problems. There is no style or soul to the film at all, and the story is presented in a bland way with Tom Hardy doing his best simple man/Rocky Balboa impersonation (minus the humour). He didn't impress me here. Gandolfini was good, but Hardy was just odd. Not to mention Noomi Rapace, who just felt miscast. The film had been given some thought; a self-proclaimed has-been goodfella wanting to get some of the good old days back again and the silent but deadly bar keep, it's a good duo, with the dog to humanise the killer and a wife/sick son for us to empathise with the older cousin. But it's just so plainly delivered. It's the film version of those Ikea commercials that show you furniture on a white background and then the price pops on screen. A no frills, get-what-you're-given feature that will be forgotten soon after viewing.

C-

Loved this! Really surprised I enjoyed it so much. Hardy is great in it. The dog is adorable too. A gripping crime drama.

8/10 (A-)