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Calendar: Saturday, Sept. 20 ... 10 things to know for Friday ... ON SCREEN 'The Drop' hits all the marks By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Sep. 18, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Sep. 18, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News “The Drop,” written for the screen by author Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Shutter Island” ), is based on one of his short stories, “Animal Rescue,” and possesses what has become his signature style: flawed anti-hero characters surrounded by gritty, dark, urban atmospherics. The film is set in a hard-boiled, blue-collar neighborhood bar in Brooklyn, a refuge for rough-edged men, some of whom live lives of controlled violence and surprising isolation. The genre, while somewhat amorphous, is often referred to as neo-noir and is derivative of those shadowed and desperately nihilistic films of the '40s and '50s (examples would be “Double Indemnity” and “The Big Sleep” ) . And there is no better practitioner of this narrative style of writing today than Lehane. The borough bar is owned by Marv (James Gandolfini, in his final film), a man who, by his own admission, was once if not respected at least feared. No longer. The head bartender is Bob (Tom Hardy), his cousin, a laconic, seemingly harmless 30-something who pours shots and brews for the regulars, frayed men seated at the long slab of oak, hunched forward, glancing up occasionally at a sports network as the conversation ricochets back and forth. Marv’s joint is also a drop bar where the mob receives,  on any given night, pay-offs tucked into worn envelopes, folded in newspaper, and kept in a hidden safe by Marv, to be laundered later. As it turns out, some 10 years before, Marv “blinked” and lost ownership of the bar to a mobbed-up, remorseless crew of Chechens. One night, as Bob and Marv are behind the bar about to close up, two men in masks enter with shotguns and hold up the place, taking some five thousand from the register. Marv is told by the Chechens that they want their money back, and it’s up to Marv and Bob to get it. There’s no “forgive” in their instructions. There is one other unusual dimension to the film that is woven into its texture and is both ominous and optimistic. Bob is walking home from work late at night. He lives alone in his deceased parents’ house not far from the bar. As he passes a fenced yard, he hears the cries of an animal coming from a garbage can. He stops and looks inside and sees a puppy, a charcoal pit bull, wounded and abandoned. A woman comes down the walkway. Her name is Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and together they take the dog inside, and she insists that Bob keep it. He relents and names the small pooch Rocco. The dog, now cared for by Bob, becomes an integral part of the story. A neighborhood head-case (Matthias Schoenaerts) shows up, has a connection to Nadia, and claims the dog is his. Yes, he beat Rocco and left him in the garbage can, but he feels bad about it. And every time one of the locals comments on what a sweet little dog Bob has, a feeling of dread is conveyed. But then that emotion, of impending doom, frames every scene. This will not end well. The performances in “The Drop” are to a person superb, each conveying a restrained tension that is cumulative. The ensemble is led by the much-missed Gandolfini, who superbly inhabits the clearly drawn character of Marv, his deep well of talent on display in every scene. As well, Hardy conveys perfectly that Bob’s loneliness is a thread stitched tightly into his persona, revealing ever so slowly that Bob is not what he seems. Rapace (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” ) achieves the same complexity as Nadia, a woman with history who is profoundly damaged yet ever resilient. In film, like no other medium, place and character can be created and worlds fashioned from which many in the audience are insulated. That ability is what makes a film like “The Drop” so compelling: fine writing, excellent characterization, spot-on dialogue, to include authenticity of place, all forming a nexus that transcends. The Drop 106 min Rated R     By Chris Honoré for Revels DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for Revels Posted Sep. 18, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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