The Drop (15.)
Directed by Michael R. Roskan.
Starring Tom Hardy, Nooni Rapace, James Gandolfini, Mattias Schoenaerts and John Ortiz. 106 mins. Out on Blu-ray and DVD now.
The last film appearance of James Gandolfini, who died in 2013, would appear to be a comfortable home run; he is the only authentic figure in a Brooklyn crime drama where all the other main roles are filled by Europeans. It's not that straightforward though. The Drop is true to its name in as much as it does indeed get the drop on its audience. From its first image, neon reflecting in rippling water, it seems to be a relatively mundane amble around the tired old Brooklyn neighbourhood with the same tired old set of small time low life types. Then in its final third all the slack is suddenly pulled tight and the whole thing becomes much more interesting.
The old familiars are headed up by Bob (Hardy), the slightly slow witted guy who tends bar at the place run by Cousin Marv (Gandolfini) but owned by the mob, who are a little put out when it is held up by a couple of young hoods. To add to his woes one night he finds and takes in a battered Pitbull on his way home dumped in the trash can of Nadia (Rapace) and through that becomes involved with her psychotic ex-boyfriend Deeds (Schoenaerts.)
The casting of non-American actors may be simply because director Roskam is Belgium and wanted to have a few sympathetic faces around (including his Bullhead star Schoenaerts) as he made his American debut. But it also underlines an important theme of the film: that the old neighbourhood isn't the old neighbourhood anymore. The Mob is now Chechen rather than Italian and Gandolfini gives a fine performance as a man who used to be a big shot and has trouble adjusting to the change in circumstances. Home advantage doesn't mean that he runs away with the film. Schoenaerts is unnervingly convincing - you'd never believe he was born in Antwerp. In comparison Hardy seems to be making a bit too much of an effort; too self-consciously trying to do his Terry Molloy performance.
Directed by Michael R. Roskan.
Starring Tom Hardy, Nooni Rapace, James Gandolfini, Mattias Schoenaerts and John Ortiz. 106 mins. Out on Blu-ray and DVD now.
The last film appearance of James Gandolfini, who died in 2013, would appear to be a comfortable home run; he is the only authentic figure in a Brooklyn crime drama where all the other main roles are filled by Europeans. It's not that straightforward though. The Drop is true to its name in as much as it does indeed get the drop on its audience. From its first image, neon reflecting in rippling water, it seems to be a relatively mundane amble around the tired old Brooklyn neighbourhood with the same tired old set of small time low life types. Then in its final third all the slack is suddenly pulled tight and the whole thing becomes much more interesting.
The old familiars are headed up by Bob (Hardy), the slightly slow witted guy who tends bar at the place run by Cousin Marv (Gandolfini) but owned by the mob, who are a little put out when it is held up by a couple of young hoods. To add to his woes one night he finds and takes in a battered Pitbull on his way home dumped in the trash can of Nadia (Rapace) and through that becomes involved with her psychotic ex-boyfriend Deeds (Schoenaerts.)
The casting of non-American actors may be simply because director Roskam is Belgium and wanted to have a few sympathetic faces around (including his Bullhead star Schoenaerts) as he made his American debut. But it also underlines an important theme of the film: that the old neighbourhood isn't the old neighbourhood anymore. The Mob is now Chechen rather than Italian and Gandolfini gives a fine performance as a man who used to be a big shot and has trouble adjusting to the change in circumstances. Home advantage doesn't mean that he runs away with the film. Schoenaerts is unnervingly convincing - you'd never believe he was born in Antwerp. In comparison Hardy seems to be making a bit too much of an effort; too self-consciously trying to do his Terry Molloy performance.
