The Drop Review: A Fitting Conclusion for Gandolfini

Crime dramas usually fall into the pitfalls of focusing on the money and power of crime instead of the delving into the psyche of those who inhabit the criminal underworld—Michaël R. Roskam’s “The Drop” skips past these many traps and delivers a solid crime drama that gives James Gandolfini, in his final performance, a fitting send off.

Written by Boston native Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”) “The Drop” stars Tom Hardy, Noomi Repace and James Galdofini in a story that explores self inflicted loneliness, locking away the past and in the case of James Galdofini’s character, being stuck in the past.

“The Drop” follows Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) who with his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) run a hole in the wall bar called “Cousin Marv’s.” Although the bar may never get a second look from most—it is one of many drop bars set up where all of the city’s dirty money comes through like a crooked Federal Reserve. One night, Cousin Marv’s is robbed—putting Saginowski and Marv in the hole with some very bad people.

While Saginowski and Marv struggle to find out who ripped them off, Saginowski finds a brutalized dog in the garbage can of his neighbor Nadia (Noomi Rapace). Saginowski has never owned a dog and is taken aback when he is given the responsibility of taking care of it, a burden that begins to soften Saginowski up, however, his happiness does not last.

Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts) Nadia’s ex-boyfriend and the man who put the dog in a garbage can begins to pop up in Saginowski’s life. Pushing and pulling, unraveling Saginowski’s calm demeanor he works so hard to maintain. Deeds, the pressure of the mob, a police investigation and the dark cloud of the past looming threaten to destroy Saginowski’s self-built prison for the man he use to be.

The thing that makes “The Drop” work is Hardy, as simple as that. Hardy proves why he is one of the industry’s most interesting and versatile actors. He makes Saginowski’s tragic loneliness while giving subtle hints to just how dangerous he is and credit must also be given to Roskam sprinkles little shots and gives Hardy the space to really make Saginowski another notch on the thespians belt.

Gandolfini and Rapace are also hard o keep your eyes off. In his last role, Gandolfini is perfect as Marv. A fromer boss who misses terribly the respect and power he once had. Galdofini has the humor that made him everyone’s favorite bad guy in “The Sopranos” and the gravitas to draw the audience members in to the nuances of his character. Rapace’s broken Nadia is not a woman looking for a savior, but a fresh start. Albeit the character is a little cliché, the woman whose been burned by everybody she’s ever known. Rapace still manages to make Nadia unique and allows you too look past the overused story device.

What holds “The Drop” back is its inclusion of what really is a pointless police investigation. Led by Detective Torres (John Ortiz), his digging around does not lead to anything but just hammering home the plot’s big twist at the end. Ortiz does his best, but it is not enough to find a way to make him fit the mold of this story. With no arrest and no hard evidence, you’ll find yourself asking, “why are there even cops in this movie?”

Dennis Lehane, whose short story “Animal Rescue” is the basis of the film, has cooked up yet another crime drama that does ride on the same road as others. His screenplay gives each actor a scene to shine in, even John Ortiz’s seemingly useless Detective Torres.

“The Drop” may not make a lot of noise on arrival, but Hardy turns in another memorable performance and it gives Gandolfini a fitting goodbye. Roskame and Lehane have created a crime drama that focuses on the people that get swept under the rug, the low level thugs and bars that movies don’t get made on. “The Drop” is what the crime genre needs.