'The Drop' review by Jake Boyle
As casting choices go, Tom Hardy as a timid, mumbling New Yorker isn't the most obvious of decisions. But, armed with a thick Bronx accent and a less superhuman-looking physique, last year he waded into The Drop, Michaël R Roskam's tale of ordinary people doing their best not to get (too) involved in the Mafia's business. It also marks the last film appearance of James Gandolfini, and a role as a bitter, resentful failed criminal allowed for a final showcase of the man's talent for lacing every word with acid.
If The Drop had to be summed up in one word, it would be murky. Murky lighting, murky locales, murky morality. It creates an authentically grim experience, and the forlornness of the atmosphere makes it never seem questionable that the characters would allow such awful goings on around them. While Hardy is absolutely brilliant (more on that soon), it's only made possible because of realistic performances of everybody surrounding him - while Gandolfini's swansong might not be the most challenging role he's ever taken on, he plays the part to a T; John Ortiz imbues a little more depth into a fairly standard-issue character, and Noomi Rapace conveys all the unspoken emotions that need to be seen below the surface. This all sets Hardy up for a stalwart, tour de force of a performance, full of subtle little mannerisms and complexities that allow him both a sense of weakness and of great frustration.
The narrative is nothing spectacularly different but it's strongly told, starting off incredibly stark and getting more and more loaded until one climactic turning point. The lead-up to this excels at creating the necessary tension - the formerly plain cinematography becomes rapidly fluid and stylistic, violins start to swell in the background and Hardy gradually becomes less nervous and more angry. The whole event is really a dollar store Scorsese, but its engagingly told and if you're going to be strongly influenced by somebody, Marty's a hell of a good choice. The film's got a perfectly balanced tone: dark and serious enough to portray the stifling, uncomfortable standard of life, but there are enough offsetting beats of lighter stuff (a genuinely interesting story about an adopted dog, amusingly petty discussions about etymology) that it never veers into brooding territory.
Good from the beginning and fantastic by the end, The Drop is a film that manages to make a little from a lot. The theft of an umbrella will make your hair stand on end. A two minute monologue completely turns the entire film and the characters within it on their head. Hardy staring at his shoes and muttering is some of the most compelling acting of last year. While its themes and characters are hardly unique there are few films that present them with as much conviction and seriousness as Roskam's English language debut. Gandolfini might not have been stretching himself, but viewed as a whole it's a great film to leave your audience with.
If The Drop had to be summed up in one word, it would be murky. Murky lighting, murky locales, murky morality. It creates an authentically grim experience, and the forlornness of the atmosphere makes it never seem questionable that the characters would allow such awful goings on around them. While Hardy is absolutely brilliant (more on that soon), it's only made possible because of realistic performances of everybody surrounding him - while Gandolfini's swansong might not be the most challenging role he's ever taken on, he plays the part to a T; John Ortiz imbues a little more depth into a fairly standard-issue character, and Noomi Rapace conveys all the unspoken emotions that need to be seen below the surface. This all sets Hardy up for a stalwart, tour de force of a performance, full of subtle little mannerisms and complexities that allow him both a sense of weakness and of great frustration.
The narrative is nothing spectacularly different but it's strongly told, starting off incredibly stark and getting more and more loaded until one climactic turning point. The lead-up to this excels at creating the necessary tension - the formerly plain cinematography becomes rapidly fluid and stylistic, violins start to swell in the background and Hardy gradually becomes less nervous and more angry. The whole event is really a dollar store Scorsese, but its engagingly told and if you're going to be strongly influenced by somebody, Marty's a hell of a good choice. The film's got a perfectly balanced tone: dark and serious enough to portray the stifling, uncomfortable standard of life, but there are enough offsetting beats of lighter stuff (a genuinely interesting story about an adopted dog, amusingly petty discussions about etymology) that it never veers into brooding territory.
Good from the beginning and fantastic by the end, The Drop is a film that manages to make a little from a lot. The theft of an umbrella will make your hair stand on end. A two minute monologue completely turns the entire film and the characters within it on their head. Hardy staring at his shoes and muttering is some of the most compelling acting of last year. While its themes and characters are hardly unique there are few films that present them with as much conviction and seriousness as Roskam's English language debut. Gandolfini might not have been stretching himself, but viewed as a whole it's a great film to leave your audience with.
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