Damaged goods

‘The Drop’ review

By Steven Cayer, Senior Columnist

4/5

When I heard about a new crime drama called The Drop, I wanted to see it because I love both Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini. But what I came away with was a lot more than just excellent acting.

Bob (Hardy) is a bartender who works for Marv (Gandolfini), and together they own what’s called a “drop-bar”: a safe-house for mob money before they launder it. Naturally, the location of a drop-bar always changes so the cops can’t find it. When the bar gets robbed on the night of a drop, the Chechens lean on them to get their money back or else. Meanwhile, Bob finds an adorable, beaten pit bull in a trash can and decides to keep it, naming it Rocco. Then he meets Nadia (Noomi Rapace), whose trash can had Rocco inside, and the tension rises from there.

I need to commend Hardy on his subtle yet incredible performance yet again. He is a chameleon who can play any part he’s given. He does a great job letting you know he’s hiding something from the start, then teases you until the climax of the film.

I loved the fact that the story doesn’t shove itself in your face. You need to fill in a couple of blanks yourself. It’s an achievement in itself that these kinds of movies are still coming out. This film is based on the short story Animal Rescue by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the screenplay. You can tell he understands the dark, gritty world of criminals and that being one is just another job.

This movie is a slow burn, but if you get through it you will be glad you did.