Review of The Drop (1965) by Joel M — 29 Dec 2014

I don't want to drop the ball in this review, so I promise I will not incorporate a plethora of puns. Who am I kidding? You know I drop puns like a wild man. Anyways, time to get into the Drop program. The crime caper "The Drop" was an insightful, unpredictable movie proficiently directed by Michael R. Roskam and "writefully" penned by acclaimed screenwriter Dennis Lehane. The backdrop of "The Drop" is a New York bar called "Cousin Marv's" that is utilized for money drops for the mafia. Tom Hardy stars as Bob, the bar's mild-mannered bartender who gets hounded by his new dog's former owner to return his dog back to him. Bob is cousin to Bar Manager Marv (played by the late, great James Gandolfini), who used to own the bar a decade ago but now its proprietors are Russian thugs; you could say that Uncle Marv's Bar turned into The Russia House. I told you there were puns! Please don't drop me now! Also, dropping by to this one is the former girl with the dragon tattoo Noomi Rapace as Nadia; who takes a strange liking to Bob, but also gets caught up in the crossfire of the film's developments. Hardy keeps on proving that he is one of the best actors of today that not many have heard of with yet another great performance, here as Bob. It is heartbreaking to see Gandolfini and know that he is no longer with us; he delivered a very worthy performance as Cousin Marv, which sadly was his last performance. Rapace was not so sharp in her work as Nadia, but did not detract that much from the movie's effectiveness. What enamored me the most of "The Drop" was its unpredictability, which gravitated me to the film's narrative. "The Drop" moves a bit slow at times (call it a slow drop), but I would still recommend to drop your plans for today, and reach for "The Drop".

**** Good.