Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Drop

Michael R. Roskam – 2014 – USA

Regardless of the fact that there seems to be no shortage of movies about reluctant tough-guys – (you know: strong, silent types who don’t want any trouble, yet when pushed too far turn into psychotic badasses) – The Drop is a strong drama centered around another intense performance by Tom Hardy.  He plays Bob, a simple bartender in a dive owned by James Gandolfini (in his final role), and who gets mixed up with underworld goons when the bar is robbed one night.  Nothing much seems to rile Bob – not even guns in his face – until the rightful owner of a badly abused puppy he rescued from a trash can comes looking for it.  The plot walks a tightrope between the clichéd and the pretentious but somehow never really tumbles.  I appreciated its simplicity and focus on character even though it doesn’t necessarily re-write the book on working-class crime dramas.

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