The Drop approaches a common subject in an original and surprising way. Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island) has crafted another brilliant crime narrative that shies away from cliché and common narrative tropes that tend to pepper cross-cultural, urban crime plots.
The film follows Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) who tends bar at a local bar in Brooklyn owned by his ‘cousin Marv’ (James Gandolfini). Cousin Marv’s bar occasionally acts as a cash drop for the local Chechen mob. Two amateur thieves rob the bar, which creates tension between Marv and the Chechen mob, putting the lives of Bob and Marv at risk if they aren’t able to recover the stolen money.
Throughout the film we learn more about Marv and Bob’s pasts, their attempt and ultimate failure at establishing a gang when they were young and Marv’s reverberating desire to be infamous. Family ties play an important role in Marv and Bob’s relationship as they work to ensure their own survival.
Early on in the film Bob finds an abused puppy in a garbage can one night on his way home from work. This is how he comes to know Nadia (Noomi Rapace) a young woman with a troubled past and problematic ex. The puppy, who Bob names Rocco, is a catalase for Bob and Nadia’s friendship.
I would hate to say too much more about the plot for fear of spoiling your experience of the complexities of these characters and the many layers at play throughout the plot.
The Drop is a very well crafted script directed with precision by Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead) in his English-language directing debut. Hardy, Rapace and Gandolfini bring expertly bring Dennis Lehane’s narrative to life. This film is extremely satisfying to watch, I highly recommend it.
Currently showing at The State Theater and other nearby locations.
