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Canberra Today 12°/15° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Review / ‘The Drop’ (MA) *** and a half

the dropTHE sheer cinematic quality of director Michael Roskam’s second feature augurs well for his future. Written by Dennis Lehane adapting his novel “Animal Rescue”, “The Drop” is modern film noir that commands respect equally for form and content.

Tom Hardy plays Bob, a gentle fellow who tends his cousin Marv’s (James Gandolfini) Brooklyn bar, one of many at which racketeers drop off the night’s takings for safe-keeping before laundering. Walking home one early morning, Bob discovers a puppy abandoned in the trash can outside the house where Nadia lives. Not her dog, it becomes a catalyst for a slowly developing relationship between two loners.

Attending Mass regularly but not taking communion, Bob’s carrying the burden of a past sin. The heavies try to manipulate his involvement in the money activities. Tensions develop. Marv gets in the plot over his head. The pace of the drama is unhurried. Its impact is compelling.

The puppy, whom Bob names Rocco, is a pit bull that with the right rearing can be as good a companion as any breed. Nadia has a history with Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts) a nasty piece of work with a penchant for abusing women. Eric reckons Rocco belongs to him.

The screenplay’s situations and characters are at times confusing without challenging its credibility. James Gandolfini’s last film is a fitting memorial to his acting chops. As Nadia, Noomi Rapace is softer and more vulnerable than she was as Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish productions of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy. And Tom Hardy will shortly arrive on our screens as a reprise of Max Rockatansky. Remember him, the Mad one?

At Palace Electric and Dendy

 

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Dougal Macdonald

Dougal Macdonald

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