The Drop

Plot synopsis:
We open with a montage explaining what a drop bar is. Its the central bar that holds all the collection money from other mob owned businesses to be picked up later. In this story, it's the Chechen mafia. The drop bar location always changes.Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) is a bartender at neighborhood bar in Brooklyn called Cousin Marv's. A group of old timers toast to a kid (Richie) who died ten years ago. Cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) is angry that they keep doing this and even angrier that his soft bartender lets an old woman drink for free and smoke cigarettes illegally inside when he's not around.On his way home, Bob finds a whimpering pit bull inside a garbage can. Nadia (Noomi Rapace) wants to know who's snooping around her trash. She comes out and sees that the dog is badly injured. She agrees to help Bob, but only after she takes a picture of his license and sends it to a few friends. Together they patch up the dog. Bob tells her that he can't take care of it right now. She tells him that because it's a pit bull, it'll be put down at the shelter if its owner doesn't show. Bob agrees to come back in a few days to take the dog. Someone watches them from across the street.Bob goes to church. The congregation is small so its not hard for him to always notice fellow parishioner Detective Torres (John Ortiz). He also notices a statue of Saint Rocco, who has a dog. Bob picks up the dog and confesses to Nadia that he doesn't know how to care for a dog. Together they go to the pet store to buy supplies. They also make a name tag for him. Bob names him Rocco.Cousin Marv's is robbed by two guys. During the robbery, Bob notices that one of the gunmen has a broken watch. Detective Torres shows up to investigate and Bob tells him about the watch. This really upsets Marv, who knows that the Chechens are going to be pissed. Torres says that he noticed he goes to church with Bob and asks if he knew that the church was folding to be part of another church and that the land was probably going to be turned into condos with stained glass windows. He also asks why Bob never takes communion. Bob tells him that's none of his business. Torres questions whether or not it is. Bob assures him, "it isn't."Chovka (Michael Aranov), the face of the Chechen mob shows up while Marv and Bob are shoveling snow. Chovka reveals that he has captured one of the men responsible for the robbery. The man is gagged and impaled by his right foot to the floor of the van with heavy bolt. Chovka asked Marv and Bob if they know this man. They both say no. He wants to know why the cops know about the broken watch. Bob apologizes. Chovka tells Marv to find the money. Marv freaks out because if he knew how to find that money, that would mean he had something to do with the robbery.Nadia and Bob take Rocco to the dog park. Nadia lost a night of work and asks if she can dog sit Rocco for a little extra money. Bob agrees. After they part ways, Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts) shows up and tells Bob that he has a nice dog. Bob takes Rocco and leaves.Marv lives with his sister Dottie (Ann Dowd). Dottie tells Marv that a collection agency has been calling because they need to pay for their dad's life support. She suggests maybe its time to let him go. Marv disagrees strongly. He storms out and meets up with one of the robbers to tell him to tell his brother to get a new watch. From their conversation, we learn that Marv was in on the robbery after all.Deeds shows up at Bobs house and welcomes himself inside. He asks questions about the dog and tells Bob he wants it back. Bob says he doesn't get to hurt the dog anymore and he should leave. Deeds takes Bob's umbrella and sees himself out. Bob brings Rocco to work with him.On his way into the bar, Marv is stopped by a man asking for directions. Marv is freaked because something about the man is suspicious. He tells Bob that Deeds is a local thug who claims to have killed the kid, Richie,who the old timers were toasting. Between Deeds and the guy asking for directions, something is weird. They go out back to get in the garbage and there's a bag tied to the fence. In the bag is a severed arm with the broken watch and all the money taken from the robbery.Bob wraps up the arm and throws it in a duffel bag. Marv is unsettled by how casual Bob is being. Marv comments that it seems as though Bob has done this a thousand times. Later, Bob takes the arm and throws it in the river. Torres shows up and asks Bob if he knows Eric Deeds. Bob says not really. Meanwhile, Marv washes the robbery money.The Chechens show up and Marv returns the money. They tell him that his bar will be the drop bar for the night of the Super Bowl.Nadia is a little angry that Bob didn't let her know that he was taking Rocco to work. He apologizes and they have some drinks and get to know each other. She has scars on her neck that she reveals are from when she used to have a drug problem. She explains that she stabbed herself with a potato peeler.Marv finds the robber and tells him to get in the car. The robber doesn't want to because last time he saw his brother was when someone else told him to get in a car. He wants to make sure Marv doesn't have the trunk lined in plastic. Marv pops it open, its fine. The robber gets in and they go for a ride. Marv tells him that they're going to rob the place again during the night of the Super Bowl, but the robber refuses. The trunk pops open again and Marv tells the guy to get out and slam it shut. When he does, Marv runs him over and kills him.Eric Deeds stops by and starts asking Bob about Nadia, specifically if she's stabbed herself with a potato peeler lately. Bob asks Nadia how she knows Deeds. She freaks out and storms off. Later she apologizes and confesses that they used to date. She also warns Bob that Deeds is crazy and says he killed that kid. Bob says he heard.Bob goes home and calls for Rocco, but there is no answer. He goes to his crate and Rocco is fine, but his umbrella is there too. Deeds has been in his house. He goes to ask Deeds to back off and tells him hes not returning the dog. Deeds says he can keep it for $10,000.Torres gets a cop friend to show him Deeds's psych file. Something in the file catches his interest.Marv meets with Deeds and tells him that Bob is scared of him and says that he has a solution where everyone can win.Marv calls Bob and tells him he won't be into the bar for the Super Bowl. Bob asks if he's planning on doing something desperate that they can't clean up this time. Marv yells at him and tells him how he used to be feared and respected, but lost that when he lost the bar to the Chechens. He also knows it's a slap in his face that Bob lets the old lady sit on his old stool. Bob says its just a stool. "That's all it is. It doesn't mean anything."Bob takes $10K hidden in his basement with him to the bar, along with Rocco, for the Super Bowl. He puts it behind the bar next to a pistol.Deeds breaks into Nadia's home and forces her to go to Cousin Marv's Bar with him. While he's there Marv calls him and asks where he is that's so noisy. Deeds tells him that he's at the bar. Marv warns him not to underestimate the very soft spoken and gentle Bob. Marv lines his trunk with plastic and heads to the bar. He parks a block and a half away and watches.Different mob guys drop off money throughout the night. Eventually the bar clears except for Deeds and Nadia. Deeds shows Nadia that he has a gun, then he goes outside to smoke. Nadia cries and warns Bob that Deeds is planning on shooting him. Deeds comes back in and Bob offers him the money for the dog. Deeds asks how much for Nadia and says he'd rather have the money in the safe. Bob says he can't do that and tells him the story of the dead kid.Bob tells the story. Marv had a horrible gambling problem when he was a loan shark. A lot of people owed him money. The kid was one of those people. But the kid won a bunch of money at the casino and paid back Marv. But it wasn't enough to cover Marv's debt, so no one could know that the kid paid anything. Bob found the kid and shot him in the face twice. He explains in detail how he disposed of the body with lye in an oil tank. So, says Bob, if he (Bob) killed the kid, how is it that Deeds is running around claiming to have done it himself?As Deeds starts to answer, Bob shoots him twice in the face. He tells Nadia that she is safe now and she can go. She can't believe that he trusts her to not tell anyone of the shooting. Terrified, she runs out. The Chechens come and dispose of Deeds body. Chovka tells Bob he should rename the place "Bob's Bar." Bob says he's just a bartender. Chovka tells him he's the new Marv.Outside, Marv sees the man who asked for directions earlier approaching his car. He knows what's next. The man shoots Marv in the head.Torres comes to investigate. Marv is dead and Deeds is missing. Bob isn't surprised because that's the kind of neighborhood it is. Torres tells him that the church was in fact bought for housing development and asks if he'll see Bob at the closing. Bob says he'll be there. Torres is about to walk away, but comes back and says that Deeds couldn't have killed the kid because he was in the psych ward at the time. He starts to leave, and then he steps back, leans into Bob's ear, and in a whisper asks, "I bet no one ever sees you coming. Do they?"Bob takes Rocco to Nadia's home so Bob can apologize for that night at the bar. In her front yard, he explains that's not really who he is anymore. He asks if they can hang out. She's thoughtful for a moment, and then says, "Let me get my jacket".

Tags: plot twist, murder, violence

Review:
The Drop is getting a lot of attention because of Gandolfini, who gives another memorable performance, but The Drop is much more than an opportunity to see one our generation's greatest actors one last time, it's one of the best films of the year.
It makes sense that The Drop is written by Dennis Lahane (writer of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Shutter Island) who adapted the film from his short story "Animal Rescue," a title with more than one meaning.
The Drop is a character driven film that constructs each scene with great dialogue and fantastic acting.
The Drop is a dark, brooding crime film starring Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini.
But every now and then America still shows signs of movie-greatness with beauty's like "Killing them softly", "The Counsellor" and now this crime drama that I think can most definitely be compared with those films.
Enough has been said about the beautifully understated role by Tom Hardy, and James Gandolfini, whom I've always enjoyed watching perform, certainly leaves a big void with this being his last performance, man, will he be missed.
Right away you get a feel for those previous works as we are again introduced to a gritty, seedy, and corrupt underbelly of a big city environment that introduces us to a bunch of low lifes who are caught up in doing the wrong things just to "make something of themselves".What makes "The Drop" different from some of these other films is that these are different characters compared to what we're used to.
You believe that any of these characters is capable of beating another ones head in and when something of that sort actually happens, it sticks with you and has a lasting effect that carries throughout the remainder of the film.The story follows Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) and his Cousin Marv (the last film of the late James Gandolfini) who run what's known as a drop bar which simply mean that they serve as a place where mobsters leave large amounts of illegal money to pick up at a later date.
It's the kind of performance that has a low-key profoundness that makes you hope the academy rewards a posthumous Oscar nomination.Hardy is no less brilliant here as the quiet and mysterious Bob. Bob is not a big talker and just lives quietly in his own little bubble tending bar and handling the drop.
Hardy especially is a master of accents and the way he handles his blue collar, Brooklyn speak is amazing to watch as we follow the mysterious Bob throughout the film, always wondering what he is thinking and what he really is about.The other stand out performance in the film comes from Matthias Shoenaerts as the loose cannon, Eric Deeds.
However, it also could be one of those small festival films that develops a cult following after people realize how good it is for being a slightly slower paced thriller that delivers great performances and a good story.
Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Naomi Rapace, and Matthias Schoenaerts star in "The Drop" from 2014.
Roskam, and brilliant acting, this is an excellent film.Bob Saginowski (Hardy) works at a bar formerly owned by his cousin Marv (Gandolfini), now mob-run, which means that every once in a while, the bar is the drop for the mob's collections.When masked men hold up the bar and get $5,000, Bob has to find a way to make it up - it's the night's take; the mob money was already collected.
And Rocco, an adorable pup, beaten and thrown in the trash, has the right stuff as well, surviving a miserable beginning.Tom Hardy is magnificent as Bob - totally American; he is truly film's male chameleon, believable as a quiet bartender who tries to stay out of the way.Gandolfini, in his last performance, is great - he has a monologue toward the end of the film that is quite powerful - he's a man who has seen his dreams shattered and chosen the wrong road.
It's a good movie, and a dark one, but in the hands of other actors could easily have been written off, given that the story is derivative."The Drop" is a must see if you're a James Gandolfini fan and to see the amazing Tom Hardy.
These performances just live up to the depth of what's written for these characters.The Drop is plain simple, that the only value it provides to its audience is some entertaining cluster with the stars like Hardy, Gandolfini, and Rapace, and some grounded tension.
Right.It reminds me a little of "A History of Violence" in that it builds the tension very nicely and you know that some where down the line violence is going to happen, but when, how and why?I am really sad that James Gandolfini is no longer with us, he is such a presence in the film.
The film stars Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, John Ortiz, Matthias Schoenaerts (who also starred in Roskam's 2011 crime-drama flick 'BULLHEAD') and James Gandolfini (in his last film role).
I found the movie to be really dark but extremely involving and suspenseful, at times, as well.Hardy plays Bob Saginowski; a Brooklyn bartender who works for his cousin Marv (Gandolfini) at a local tavern.
James Gandolfini plays Marv (who runs the bar) and Noomi Rapace is here as Bob's main squeeze.The story isn't a complicated one, but the characters stay busy and have clear motivation.
It was fun watching Hardy here with his thick Brooklyn accent - he clearly stole the show.James Gandolfini holds his own as an old, washed up gangster in his final role - the same magnetism he always had on screen - but I think that the other main key to this flick is the terrifying Eric Deeds, played by Matthias Schoenaerts.
I found her role in the movie to be pretty organic and unforced, but I do think she is the weakest thing about the story.Overall, I thought that The Drop was a very good crime story.
In the end the wait pays off as everything culminates to the final intense climax.Full Review:Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini Are there any more reasons you need to watch this movie?
Don't let this negative detract you from watching the film, because the slow build-up is worth it in the end (can't say more without spoiling it).The Drop is a strong character driven movie.
Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and everybody's favorite soprano James Gandolfini star in this gritty crime-drama that reminds us all that you don't mess with people's bars.
In his first English language, American film, Roskam works with a script by the great author Dennis Lehane to tell the story of Brooklyn bartender Bob, waitress Nadia, has-been Cousin Marv, and the mysterious Eric Deeds.
She does a great job playing a damaged woman trying to lead a good life, and her scenes with Hardy (and the dog!) are some of the best of the movie.
Bleak and fascinating, "The Drop" stands in the higher ranks of crime drama films of the last few years and provides for yet another flawless performance by the great Tom Hardy and a testament performance by Gandolfini, who shines in all of his brightness, accumulated through a glorious career."The Drop" isn't at any moment doing, nor trying to do, something highly original, but thanks to the fact that it knows perfectly well what it's doing it shines on many level, including the story that could be looked as weak from a synopsis, but reveals itself to be quite well thought out as it unveils.
Gandolfini as I said is a blast to watch, but what truly makes this movie rise above is Tom Hardy and his amazingly written character.
Along-side the great man is the ever impressive Tom Hardy playing a character somewhat reminiscent to Rocky Balboa, with his good heart, chequered past, devotion to dogs, and even the relationship with Moomi Rapace has a similar feel to the one heavily featured in the Rocky movies.
James Gandolfini's last film, THE DROP is a good one starring Tom Hardy (who I loved in LOCKE), Noomi Rapace and James Gandolfini...my kinda movie full of contrasts.
Written by MYSTIC RIVER'S Dennis Lehane and directed by Michael R Roskam, this darkly filmed tale of "redemption" - an "innocent" man beautifully played by Tom Hardy as Bob Saginowski, a seemingly clueless individual bartender tending bar in a neighborhood Brooklyn hangout; a place where there is both laughter, joy, and deceit, working for his burly cousin Marv (Gandolfini ) whose questionable ethics precipitates a deadly confrontation with Chechyan mobsters who use The Bar as a place for their underworld "money drop" (laundering) operations.Great actors operating in luscious, yet stark environs, with a tension that does not let up evident in the terse, almost silent dialogue.
The cocoon that encased Hardy unravels with the yelp of a vulnerable near-death puppy; and with it a protective instinct is generated which extends to Noomi Rapace - a frightened demoralized young woman whose house and property are pierced by the cries of the anguished dog - a psychotic message delivered in a garbage can.Other characters menace and stir unrest and danger - the plot becomes convoluted and there are scenes giving us the back story of Marv's (James Gandolfini) domestic arrangement with his sister, a man in debt, a father in a nursing home and enormous pressure to get out of town - to get away from it all.
His cousin Bob Saginowski is unflappable observing what is going on, but at the same time sympathy and tenderness begin to penetrate his sentient "stillness." This could be considered a familiar oft-told- tale, but what makes it a successful movie is THE DROP 's study of the humanization of a person who has "dropped out" and the stoic Tom Hardy who does not say much, but through facial and body movements conveys the deeply human need for connection..
In addition to Hardy's and Gandolfini's unsurprisingly fantastic performances, we have a whole cast from the likes of Noomi Rapace (an emotionally vulnerable single woman), Michael Aranov (a chilling, dubious villain as the head of the Chechen mob who makes the viewers anxious with his every glance and subtle threat), and Matthias Schoenaerts (a mysterious and unstable figure) that all share the energy of each scene they appear in.
It's a small movie with some big actors (Tom Hardy as Bob, Noomi Rapace as Nadia, and the late James Gandolfini as Cousin Marv) in a small-time noirish story that has been told many times before: mean streets, laconic heroes, troublesome women, secrets.
I liked the slow moving build up and the unrolling of the side stories (the dog rescue, the awkward friendship, maybe a hint of romance between Bob and Nadiya) and the almost complete lack of sensational scenes that seem to pervade many movies depicting organized crime.
You actually believe what happens in the film is real, the characters are well fleshed out, the acting great, the direction very good.The plot itself is not something I want to talk about, let me just say that people never really learn not to hurt dogs, do they?
I enjoyed that slow buildup and didn't mind it at all because I loved how the story focused on Tom Hardy's character arc and was drawn to his performance.
It might just be another crime thriller that doesn't stand out from other films in the genre, but if you are a fan of these stories you will have a great time with The Drop.
The Drop is directed by Michael Roskam and despite not being as groundbreaking as his Oscar nominated Belgian film, Bullhead, it is still one of the best thrillers of the year thanks to the wonderful performances from the cast and the attention to details of the Brooklyn scene.
In The Drop Tom Hardy stars as a lonely bartender named Bob. Along with his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) they run things at a local bar as a cover for dangerous Chechen gangsters.
It's the cutest puppy I've seen on film this year.The greatest thing about The Drop is without a doubt Tom Hardy's lead performance.
A crime drama with Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini(plus Noomi Rapace)?
The movie starts with Bob Saginowski(Tom Hardy) monologue on the bar he works and how crime is involved with it.
For those of you who want to see the character Tony Soprano one last time, James Gandolfini basically plays Tony in The Drop and he does not disappoint.
The movie in question has 3 great performances: James Gandolfini (as Cousin Marv; his final movie, RIP!), Noomi Rapace (as Nadia), and - particularly - Tom Hardy (as Bob Saginowski) whose character and role presentation is so different from the ones he is known of.
Bob Saginowski finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.The Drop is directed by Michael R.Roskam and stars James Gandolfini, Tom hardy and Noomi Rapace.
I was really waiting for this movie to come out as I love Tom Hardy's work and it's unfortunately James Gandolfini last role.
Indeed the movie is taking its time with characters but there are good chemistry between the couples, whether it's between Gandolfini and Hardy or Hardy and Noomi Rapace, they all work well together.
Nice, tight cast with James Gandolfini (A bit sad seeing him - such a fine screen presence he was) along with the haunting Noomi Rapace - but this is a Tom Hardy showcase.
Take the main character of the film, Bob, brilliantly played by Tom Hardy.
Couple this with a story of a stray dog and Bob's unwitting entanglement of the heart and we have enough in the mix to keep most fans happy.There are excellent performances here from everyone including Naomi Rapace – there is some visceral violence and some earthy language but this is a solid film and also shows Gandolfini as the true talent he was – he is, as ever, more than able to steal the scenes he is in and cinema will be lesser without him.
I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a film this much from this side of the country (Maybe Good will hunting) very solid performances from Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapaceand James Gandolfini - I was always wondering whats going to happen next - characters you feel so connected too and some you really want to take a baseball bat too it shows the hard side of the streets with a great amount of honesty.
As a farewell, Gandolfini leaves us a final reminder of what a powerful screen presence he was, and what a terrific feel for character and scene he possessed.The real attraction and the main reason to see the film is the outstanding and mesmerizing performance of Tom Hardy.
Clearly, this movie carries some violence and might not be everybody's cup of tea, but it is pillared by superb performances by Hardy - perhaps his best to date - Gandolfini, Rapace and Schoenaerts.Good dialogue, strong direction, impeccable photography, and a very credible storyline make this one of the more unexpected gems I have watched recently.Well deserved 8/10..
But yet I don't believe the short story title is entirely ironic, because so much of the film is devoted to revealing Tom Hardy's lead barman Bob character's care and attention for a brutalised and neglected dog.
And when the movie ends and the HUGE plot twist is revealed, you will see how amazing the screenplay is - the truth is obscured not because lies are constantly reinforced, but rather, the characters are written so cleverly and with so much complexity that it is our own reading of the characters themselves that led us to make certain wrong conclusions.Ultimately, The Drop benefits greatly from the excellent screenplay and the impeccable performance of the cast (mainly Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini).
Tom Hardy gives a good low key performance as a simple man who tends a bar where criminal cash gets dropped off and picked up.
In terms of the story, we have seen many movies like this but The Drop flips the script a little bit with a great ending.
The film takes too much time developing Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace.
Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace perform very well and James Gandolfini truly is one of the best gangster actors ever.The pacing is awful.
It stars Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace and Matthias Schoenaerts.
07/30/2018 I went into this movie because of James Gandolfini and Noomi Rapace who both guarantee excellence, never suspecting that Tom Hardy would outshine them both.
Supporting Hardy in a very good way, we find Noomi Rapace, the Belgian Matthias Schoenaerts and the late James Gandolfini who delivers a sublime, nostalgic, and final interpretation taken from his favorite niche.The Drop is a story filled with metaphors and concise small details that work together to reveal the violence that lies in every man, guided by the hand by a great and meticulous direction and a dark script made by a writer always faithful to his style (Dennis Lehane.
I still can't believe that James Gandolfini isn't with us anymore and this is sadly his last movie role we are ever going to see him ever again, but he has left us with a pretty damn good film.The story is about a dive bar acts as a front for the local mob, funneling money nightly.
Tom Hardy Saves The Day. The movie is more about character development and strong acting than a strong and enticing story.
The story may be nothing to brag about, but the acting is great, Tom Hardy plays the quiet guy caught in the middle of the crime world and just wants to move on with his life.