THE DROP (15)

THE DROP (15)

Run time: 106mins

Director: Michaël R. Roskam

Cast: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz

Synopsis: The film 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 centre of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighbourhood’s past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living – no matter the cost.

URL: www.facebook.com/TheDropMovie

The compelling reasons to catch this excellent, dark, tense, crime thriller are legion: masterly direction from Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead, 2011); a sparkling script by Denis Lehane (Shutter Island, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) from his own short story Animal Rescue; a stunning central performance from Tom Hardy; and most poignant of all, the last film appearance of the late, great James Gandolfini.

Gandolfini plays Marv, around whose former bar – Cousin Marv, now owned by Chechen gangsters – the gritty action is set. He gives a memorable performance as the embittered man who lives with his sister and struggles to pay for care for his ailing father and fend off his gangster paymasters after a robbery at the bar.

Tom Hardy (Peaky Blinders, Locke, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Bronson) turns in another flawless performance as Bob, a shy bartender at Cousin Marv’s bar who tries to be a good person but is conflicted – he makes to regular visits to the local chapel but never takes communion, a fact which intrigues Detective Torres (John Ortiz)

When Bob finds an injured dog in a rubbish bin, he befriends a woman, Nadia (Noomi Rapace) who helps him nurse it back to health. This leads him to clashes with Eric Deeds (Matthias Shoenaerts), a local hoodlum who is Nadia’s ex.

The Drop is an intelligent, adult crime thriller, stylishly shot by Nicolas Karakatsanis, with very strong ensemble performances and a memorable swansong from James Gandolfini.

Images courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

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