The Drop is an American crime film of high quality, thanks to an excellent combination of ingredients. First and foremost, the script is terrific. It's written by Dennis Lehane, and based on a short story of his. 'Animal Rescue'. But it doesn't feel in any way padded out. The writing is subtle and multi-layered; yes, I was impressed.
The direction by Michael R. Roskam, about whom I know little, is also first-rate. And the cast is terrific. This was the late James Gandolfini's final film role, and he is brilliant as 'Cousin Marv', a seemingly affable bar owner. Tom Hardy plays the central character, Bob Saginowski, who is Marv's cousin and works in the bar. And Naomi Rapace plays a woman called Nadia, to whom Bob - a quiet fellow, but with hidden depths - becomes increasingly attracted after finding an injured dog in a dustbin outside her home and seeking her help to nurse it back to health.
The meaning of the title is explained at the start. A 'drop' is a drop-off of a very large amount of cash overnight at a bar as part of an exercise in money laundering. We learn that Marv doesn't actually own his bar - it belongs to a bunch of Chechen gangsters who are quite prepared to use extreme violence at the least provocation. And there's a bit of mystery about Richie Whelan, who was last seen at the bar before he went missing ten years ago.
One of the merits of the screenplay is that it keeps changing direction, but the plot twists are cleverly foreshadowed. The depth of characterisation in the writing is brought out by some excellent acting. Bob's Catholic faith and the investigating cop's attitude towards him are among the elements that, although not central to the storyline, still make a very important contribution to the mood of the story and its development. In a word - marvellous.
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