FILM | Chuck Koplinski
Michael Roskam’s The Drop is a movie I wanted to like more than I did. I kept looking among the many positive things in the film for just one more great moment, one more clever turn of the narrative screw, one more … something. The Drop ends up being a movie in search of a spark, a production that does so many things right yet is never able to bring everything together to form a completely satisfying experience. Some of the blame must fall on Roskam’s shoulders as the pace he employs moves in fits and starts, never combining two distinctly different storylines in a compelling manner.
Working at Cousin Marv’s, a rundown neighborhood bar in New York City, Bob (Tom Hardy) provides the film’s voiceover narration, a device that proves to be one of the best and most vital parts of the movie. Contending, “I just tend bar,” this big, slow galoot quickly gives us the 411 on what it’s like to be a front for various enterprises in the Chechen-run mob. At a moment’s notice, any of their establishments can be designated as the drop point where all the dirty money they’ve made during the day or week is deposited for latter laundering. Of course, this is a great responsibility and anyone who’s able to facilitate this without a hitch will earn brownie points with the boss. If, however, something goes wrong – along the lines of having your place robbed on the night that it’s been designated as the drop point – well, hello Hudson River.
Bob is aware of how this game works and on the surface he seems too kindhearted to survive in this dog-eat-dog world, something that bothers his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) who once owned the bar where they work but is now nothing but a figurehead what with the mobsters having taken over. As fate would have it, Cousin Marv’s is held up one evening by a couple of knuckleheads who make off with a little over $5,000, an event that not only causes their bosses to get hot under the collar but brings a persistent cop (John Ortiz) out of the woodwork who’s interested in far more than this little robbery.
Credit Roskam for having a key eye for casting. Across the board, from the leads to those with bit parts, the ensemble does a marvelous job, fully inhabiting these people regulated to living on the edge. Noomi Rapace accurately captures the tremulous sense of apprehension and paranoia that dogs victims of physical abuse, generating sympathy for Nadia but never pandering for it. Equally effective is Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts as her ex-boyfriend, Eric, a dangerous character the actor brings to life with such an edge that you feel your gut tighten whenever he appears. Gandolfini’s turn here once again underscores the tragedy of the actor’s early death. He makes us understand Marv’s sense of desperation, going so far as to getting us to understand this man even when he does the most reprehensible things. However, it’s Hardy that steals the show, giving a cagey performance as Bob, providing us with a simpleton with a good heart whose sense of right or wrong cannot be questioned; if you’re foolish enough to, you do so at your peril.
The film has a twist ending and it’s a good one. It plays fair in regards to all we’ve learned prior and while I was able to somewhat predict this turn of events, thanks to Roskam’s clumsy handling of a key object, it didn’t deaden its impact. Be that as it may, The Drop ends up being a mixed bag; while those who appreciate good acting and gritty atmosphere may be well satisfied, the movie’s meandering storyline and lax pace combine to make it a film containing parts that are greater than the whole.
Contact Chuck Koplinski at [email protected].
For an advance review of This is Where I Leave You, go to the Cinemascoping Blog at www.illinoistimes.com.