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score 8/10
Tom Hardy, since he tremendously introduced himself to moviegoers in 2008's Bronson, has been consistently building up one of the most impressive filmographies in recent years. Like Michael Fassbender (another exceptional actor who blew up onto the scene in the past decade), every time he's involved in a project, chances say it will be good. Even if it might not, you can always expect him to bring his A- game, constantly changing accents, tones, and personalities. This man is a chameleon actor if there ever was one. In The Drop—a tense crime drama—he portrays a reserved bartender in Brooklyn—a bar that's a drop spot for dirty debts and gangster meet-ups—timidly keeping to his business and proficiently doing his duty. He works alongside James Gandolfini who also appears to mind his own and strenuously tries to continue pleasing the Chechen mobsters who pick up their cash deposits from the drop every once in a while.
The film is sharply edited where every shot builds further suspense with the complement of a foreboding, eerie score. The cinematography is intricately detailed, expecting the audience to pick up on things as the thrilling plot advances, whether the object of interest is in the background, foreground, or the clear focus in a close-up. The pace of the picture never slugs down since every scene is considerably pivotal and the twists and turns keep coming.
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.
With that being said, the expected romance subplot between the two leads calms the compelling nature of the thriller and arguably takes up too much time even though it ties into the major plot line with its relations (in a somewhat contrived manner, mind you). The very end also feels like it was shoehorned in just for the sake of ending on a positive note rather than an ambiguous/cynical one that the previous scene, with its mesmerizing monologue, set up. The alternative would've been a superior and fitting conclusion for the characters and the overall narrative.
On another note, many recent films have failed to deliver on the tension they tryingly promised—films like Gravity and Captain Phillips. Establishing tension is certainly very tricky; one can't drag scenes on for too long, and you can't exhaust your viewers with excessive suspense either. The two heretofore mentioned failed in that regard while The Drop managed incredibly tight editing (efficiently transitioning from scene to scene with a competent beat and continually building apprehension), as well as its eccentric characters that obviously seem emotionally unpredictable. Is this encounter going to blow up into an execution/firefight, or will the rivals peacefully negotiate?
FilmMuscle 14 September 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3086531/ |
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21-11-2019 14:39:14
