MOVIE REVIEW - THE DROP Release Date: 13/11/14 Rating: MA15+ Director: Michaël Roskam Stars: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Rodriguez & Ann Dowd Run Time: 106 min’s Score (out of 10): 9½ Most awareness for this flick will no doubt come from it being the late James Gandolfinis last big-screen performance. And whilst he’s solid in it, his is more of a large (no pun intended) supporting role as Marv - former owner of ‘Cousin Marv’s Bar’ - a venue he now just manages for the Chechen Mob who strong-armed him & a no. of fellow Brooklyn neighbourhood operators to ‘handover their businesses or else.’ But the real focus of The Drop is the INCREDIBLE Tom Hardy. He’s Marv’s actual cousin, Bob - a loyal & at first glance, seemingly uncomplicated, no-frills kinda guy. But as is often the case with slow-burn dramas, all is not necessarily as it initially seems. He’s Marv’s main bartender & curiously seems to do most of the actual managing. ‘Cousin Marvs’ like so many other local venues used for drops - a revolving roster of designated bars where $$ owed to aforementioned Chechen bad guys is delivered on the DL & then collected at specific times. One night however, ill-advised crooks hit Marv’s for $5K owed to the Chechens ... putting Marv & Bob in the firing line. At the same time, a local thug (Schoenaerts) is attempting to shake Bob down for $$. And whilst Bob at first looks the meeker of the two in this showdown, there’s something in a fleeting couple of glances that suggests Hardy’s Dark Knight Rises character Bane may just make a maskless cameo. It feels like every time I review a Hardy film, I claim that it’s his best work yet … so guess what? Yep, I’m gonna say it again - Hardy is completely mesmerising. And not only is my man-crush still very much alive; but I literally could not take my eyes off this guy every second he was on screen. Seriously, this is a cracking flick. Performances are all strong; Dennis Lehane’s screenplay based on his own short story is incredible & the camera work makes the rough, tough Brooklyn neighbourhood as well as the interior of Marv’s look so authentic. Man, after Locke, 2014 is shaping up as the Year of Tom Hardy. Go see this - I’d be stunned if you don’t dig it as much as I did!!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 22:09:52 +0000
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