The Drop

Movie adaptations of Dennis Lehane’s crime novels range in quality from the sublime and profound (2007’s Gone Baby Gone), to the competent and complex (2003’s Mystic River), to the contrived and ridiculous (2010’s Shutter Island). His latest, The Drop, falls in Mystic River territory--a proficient and intriguing story, well directed, with brilliant performances. In adapting his short story "Animal Rescue", Lehane changes the setting from his traditional (and perhaps overused) city of Boston to Brooklyn.  Michaël R. Roskam, (2011’s Best Foreign Language Oscar nominee Bullhead) paints a seedy picture of this borough as a dangerous place to live and work.

The story follows an aloof, soft-spoken bartender named Bob (Tom Hardy) as he juggles his low-level involvement in the money laundering that occurs in the bar where he works, his rescuing of an abused dog, and a budding relationship with a local waitress (Noomi Rapace). This film marks the third time I’ve seen Hardy in a role where he disappeared into his character so completely that I had no idea who the lead actor was. Not knowing any of the film’s stars when I bought my ticket (other than the late great James Gandolfini) I watched the entire movie thinking, “who is this actor, he’s such a find!”  When the credits rolled, I was stunned to learn that I had been watching Hardy and Rapace, two actors adept at melting into their roles and giving performances that feel simultaneously dynamic and nondescript. We can’t take our eyes off the impenetrable characters they create.  It is also a treat to see the always-welcome John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook, American Gangster) as a smart cop unable to prove what he suspects. Gandolfini, in his final film performance, is also in top form. He brings the full power of his screen persona to the role of a broken man, long past his best days.

The Drop has a unpredictable quality that seems true-to-life rather than dramatic. This is more of a character study than a neo-noir; an atmospheric film that never stifles the audience with overwrought detail or tries to lure us with red herrings into guessing potential plot twists. This makes it somewhat of a rambling narrative, yet it’s never boring or confusing. The world Roskam and Lehane create is not an especially enjoyable place to spend time, but we can’t help empathizing for the characters who populate it.