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In the voice-over narration that opens The Drop,
Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) sounds puerile and winsome, yet strangely
precocious. He explains the "drop" process, in which a different New
York bar is chosen to handle the mob's dirty money for the night. In
between drops, all you can do is wait. It's an old system, and Bob is
just one moving part—and a replaceable one at that. "I just tend the
bar," he says, knowing not to get ahead of himself; he's seen many
low-level guys overestimate their position and suffer the consequences.
So when his bar is robbed on drop night, he and his boss (James
Gandolfini) try to remember their place and act cool. Hardy was great in
more outwardly showy roles like Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and the title character in Bronson, but it's his more understated turns in Locke and
now in Michaël R. Roskam's new film that confirm him as a major talent.
You're always wondering whether there's something slightly off about
Bob, or maybe even a brutality to him that he's working to keep at bay.
You fear for him once things get going, but also for anyone who pushes
him too far. In his final role, Gandolfini plays against this tension;
ditto Noomi Rapace. These aren't career criminals, just working-class
people doing what they can to make things work—which isn't easy when the
Chechen mob insists you owe them money.
Critic's Grade: B
SEE IT: The Drop is rated R. It opens Friday at Cedar Hills, Clackamas, Eastport, Fox Tower, Lloyd Center, Bridgeport.
WWeek 2015