Adapted from 2009 short story Animal Rescue by Dennis Lehane, The Drop (2014) is James Gandolfini‘s final film. Set in a neo-noir Brooklyn, the film tells of a bar, Cousin Marv’s, used by local gangs to launder and transfer money. One night, cousin Marv (Gandolfini) and bartender Bob (Tom Hardy) are closing up when two armed men rob the bar. The film then follows the cousins’ attempt to regain the takings and their former glory.
As with any low-level gangster film, the mood is key. Much of the movie is given over to exposition; not of the plot, but of the pace. The mundane events and happenings that make up the lives of two barmen gangsters are crucial in capturing their lost status. From the outset, the death of an old associate known as Glory Days infects the rest of the narrative with a mise en scène.
Now, I’ve never gotten into this on the Arcade, but those who know me well will tell you I am a dog person. By proxy, any film featuring dogs is a film that I am predisposed to liking and exercising lenience with. More so with The Drop, this is owing to the fact that said dog is a pitbull. The public image of these pooches is atrocious and, while the film doesn’t get clogged down with animal activism as such, it is pleasing to see the balance redressed in some small way. In the movie, the dog acts as an extension of his adoptive owner Bob (Hardy); it’s reminiscent of the 2003 movie Seabiscuit, though not nearly as uplifting.
Down-trodden and world weary, but still potentially dangerous, Hardy‘s portrayal is captivating. It is genuinely impressive to see a performance that is as emotional as is economic; it is un-showy for most of the film and yet no gesture seems out of place.
Gandolfini similarly lights up the screen in every scene he’s in as cousin Marv. Indeed, audiences will have to separate the pathos for the character and the man playing him. That is not to say Marv is wholly sympathetic, as no angels or saints populate this film, but it’s a credit to the deceased that the humanity comes through. Still, while watching him act you can’t help but get the feeling of what might have been; one can only wish to see more.
If there are any problems it is that these two performances are rooted in a mood piece. The film takes its time in establishing mood. The washed out colours and sparse dialogue work to create a crushing defeatism that infects every frame. For those that enjoy films at ease with working to a timeline, the broiling tension that results will keep you spellbound. The other problem – and again I am loathe to use the word in its usual, final sense – is dealing in well-used currency. Where the forthcoming Legend looks to be a glamorous (though not flattering) portrait of the Kray Twins, The Drop is a film shot with a sense of loss and demotion. Having seen Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, one might think the film has tread ground that’s been covered already.
Even so, the film is worth seeing, provided that you take the film on its own terms.
The ground is well-trod, but the players walk tall. 8/10
