Luke HickmanThe Reel take
A suspenseful slow-burner with fantastic performances and very high quality.
Unless done by Martin Scorsese, most modern mobster movies are formulated around the same batch of stereotypes and cliches, which make them forgettable and skippable. But Belgian filmmaker Michaël R. Roskam has stepped in to remind of how good they can be. Do you think Marty can feel the weight lifted off his shoulders?
Tom Hardy leads The Drop as Bob, a simple bartender in Brooklyn, New York. His cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) used to own the bar, but had to sell it to Chechen mobsters when hard times befell him and his family. Times are better now, but not for long. When two dimwitted thieves rob the bar, Bob and Marv have to discover the identities of the robbers and recover the stolen $5,000 or suffer the certain death punishment of the Chechens.
Unlike most mob movies, The Drop isn’t fueled by brutal outbursts of graphic violence. Instead, it’s a methodically slow drama that gradually heats up to a single boiling point. A sub-plot revolving around Bob, a cute single girl (Rapace) and a discarded wounded puppy congruently unravels and ultimately ties into the mobster plot.
If you enjoy a good slow-burner that’s executed with precision and fantastic performances, then don’t miss The Drop.
(Photo credit: Fox Searchlight)
