The Drop
Grade: C
Starring: Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace, Matthias Schoenaertes and John Ortiz
Premise: A formerly-prominent mobster tries to figure out a way to get back at the gangsters who forced him to work under them.
Rated R for language and some bloody violence
The only real reason to see The Drop is to witness the last screen performance of the late James Gandolfini. Gandolfini, best known to audiences as the moody patriarch of The Sopranos, passed away suddenly in June 2013 at the age of 51. While there was a lot of buzz surrounding his performance as a loveable lug in last year's romantic comedy Enough Said--which came out just weeks after his death--his role as an embittered small-time crook forced to work even smaller time under the boots of Chechen gangers was his actual last role. It is the last time the actor (also notable for turns in The Mexican and The Last Castle) will be seen onscreen. As stated previously, the actor's presence--and his solid, believably-lived-in performance--is the only reason to see this movie.
Oh, I could name a few other reasons, like the newest entry in the Tom Hardy Masters Accents collection, or some moments of heavy, heavy suspense. But, ultimately, this film, written by novelist Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) based on a short story of his called 'Animal Rescue', is almost a no-show, a quiet slow burner set up with the promise of organized crime but also promising a payoff that never really comes. It's a talky, moody, shifty film you have to sort through, and that leaves you wondering, largely, what you just watched.
Plot
Tall but taciturn Bob Saginowski (Hardy) works at Cousin Marv's, a fair-quality sports bar on the seedy side of Brooklyn. It's owned by Bob's actual cousin Marv (Gandolfini), a lifelong bachelor who used to be a big name in small-town crime but now has to put up with being the point man for exchanges of funds going into and out of the hands of Chechen mobsters, who moved into town about 8-and-a-half years before. As Bob puts it, the mobsters leaned on Marv, and he "flinched". But Marv continues to seethe, hoping and wishing for a chance to be somebody again. Bob gets to be somebody when, one random night, he discovers an abandoned pit bull puppy in a garbage bin on his walk home from work. The garbage bin belongs to a quiet, shifty woman named Nadia (Noomie Rapace of the Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies). She claims the dog isn't hers and she doesn't known who's it is, but she nonetheless helps Bob treat the puppy's wounds (it looks like it's been beaten), and she keeps it for a few days while Bob gathers the necessary food and accessories to raise it at his home. Both quiet, closed-off types, Bob and Nadia feel like kindred spirits and develop a friendship of sorts.
But Bob soon has a lot on his mind. A couple punks in masks rob Cousin Marv's and make off with $5,000 of the Chechens' money, and the Chechens demand to get their money back. A local detective (John Ortiz) starts questioning Bob and the bar locals about the old disappearance of one of their buddies. And another shifty character enters Bob's life--Eric Deeds (Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaertes), an ex-con who's well-known for a stint in a psych ward and who is commonly believed to be the killer of the local boy who disappeared those years back. He also happens to be the owner of Bob's new dog, and he says he wants him back. He's also Nadia's ex, and Nadia clearly has both physical and emotional scars from their relationship. As Bob worries for Nadia and the dog's safety, Cousin Marv starts scheming about how to either get the Chechens their money, or get the Chechens.
What Works?
If that sounds particularly exciting, it's not. Mildly interesting? Sure. But the only thing I care to compliment about The Drop are the performances by Hardy, Gandolfini and Schoenaertes (Rapace is sadly short-changed, given astonishingly little to do considering her amount of screen time). The British-born Hardy has mastered an old south drawl (Lawless), an urban Pennsylvania grumble (Warrior), and a couple different UK accents (Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Locke). Now he adds a Brooklyn "yous guys" mutter to the pack. Even though he tends to play very taciturn characters, Hardy has a considerable screen presence--you tend to hang on his every word--but you keep wishing the script would let him do more. As quiet psycho Eric Deeds, Schoenaertes brings a real pulse to the film's second act. His hulking frame, distant stare and quiet speech all immediately make him seem like the kind of person you should run from on the street, but he somehow draws you in, to the point that, when his coldly detached air cracks enough for him to bang his hands on a table in frustration, the change from his eerily quiet manner scares you out of your wits.
But you should be here to see Gandolfini, in his final completed role. It's a doozy. Watching The Drop, it's hard to believe he's really passed, because his Cousin Marv is clinging to life, determinedly squeezing anything resembling meaning or quality out of it. He knows he doesn't have the weapons, the connections, or the strength to be his own boss again, but he hates being anybody's errand boy. "I was respected," he reminds Bob fiercely at one point, "I was feared." Considering the actor was best known for playing a mob boss and other heavies or men of note, it's a fitting and memorable last act.
What Doesn't Work?
Well, anyone expecting an action movie will be sorely disappointed. But even what the film has to offer is, mostly, disappointing, because every plot strand seems half-baked. Marv wants revenge/power, but it's never fully explained what he does to try and get it. Bob and Nadia seem like lost souls who've come together to help each other, but they have the most frustrating non-romance since Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling in Drive (another irritatingly-slow, half-baked thriller). The detective gets a piece of vital information about a main character, but you don't know what it is. And Schoenaertes' creepy stalker seems to be around for more than just intimidation/stalking, but what his role is precisely is never made clear.
You could say pacing is a problem. And maybe commitment to its story--the movie feels like it's sticking its toes in the story's water to test the temperature, but never agrees to fully submerge itself.
Content
While it's not nearly as violent or action-packed as similar movies, The Drop contains a few bloody killings and similar images. It's also got a fair few F-words.
Bottom Line
The Drop will forever be known as the last movie to feature James Gandolfini. It should wear that honor proudly, as the late actor's turn as a disgruntled, bitter mobster who used to be noteworthy is the only feature of the movie that has much conviction. Tom Hardy fans will find things to be happy about (he cuddles a puppy, in fact), but the film is Gandolfini's. Despite that air of importance, however, The Drop is ultimately a stuffy, talky, slooowwww movie about what I guess you can call the boring side of organized crime. Not a must-see.
The Drop (2014)
Directed by Michael R. Roskam
Screenplay by Dennis Lehane; Based on his short story "Animal Rescue"
Rated R
Length: 106 minutes
