I don’t think Tom Hardy can ever play a normal guy – he’s one of those actors who always has to do something, some bit of business to make it interesting for him. On the surface, he seems to be playing an ordinary joe in The Drop (2014), a Noo Yawk neo-noir in the downbeat spirit of The Friends Of Eddie Coyle. But his Brooklyn accent goes wandering into Lawless terrain in the second half and he plays his character with a weird, distant energy, which there is a point to – as we later discover. Still, as over-the-top as Tom Hardy often is, I still find him compelling and entertaining to watch. Scripted by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shudder Island) and based on one of his short stories, the film focuses on a dank neighbourhood bar run by Marv (James Gandolfini) and his cousin Bob (Hardy), which is owned by the Chechen mob as a front, a temporary bank for their illegal transactions. A recent hold-up puts pressure on the two down-on-their-luck heels to get the money back. While the tension mounts in that storyline, a sub plot involves Hardy rescuing a stray, beaten dog from a trash can, which connects him to a recovering addict Nadia (Noomi Rapace) who he becomes friendly with. Also throw into the mix Matthias Schoenaerts as a gang banger with a bad rep who starts to hassle Hardy being the dog’s former owner. Much like in Killing Them Softly, Gandolfini bucks against his Tony Soprano alpha male persona by playing another hapless, aggreviated loser in over his head. Schoenaerts is great in support though I always think that Rapace gets wasted in these Hollywood roles. Directed by Michael R. Roskam and shot on location in Brooklyn with a certain amount of gritty style. If you want something in the vibe of The 25th Hour and The Departed, this was an involving small scale drama that builds to an effective climax (though the movie goes on longer than it needs to). You can stream it on Disney Plus or rent it on iTunes. Recommended.
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