The Drop marks the English-language debut of Belgian director Michael R. Roskam, whose breakout film Bullhead was nominated for an Oscar. Roskam's sensibilities wouldn't seem to mesh with such a distinctly American crime story, but his attention to character detail crosses all borders. That said; the film gets off to a slow start as bland narration by Saginowski explains the particulars of a "drop bar", a place where the shadiest crime elements can drop off dirty money without drawing suspicion. In this small corner of Brooklyn is the bar that the soft-spoken Bob pours drinks and keeps his head down, while his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) bosses him around and laments his lot in life. Marv used to own the bar, heck it's still named after him, until the mob elbowed their way in. 
An armed robbery by a couple of local thugs would seem to be the story's spark but the true catalyst is Bob's discovery of a bruised pit bull puppy, dumped in the garbage of the scarred and fragile Nadia (Noomi Rapace). The two begin to bond over the battered pup, and their mutually dark pasts. There's something about Bob that doesn't quite click at first. He seems too nice for this hard-scrabble community. He's slow, but certainly not an idiot. He's got wits of the blue collar variety, the kind one learns on the streets and nowhere else. It's possible he's never left the city limits all his life, and lives in his parents' old home. 
The introduction of a puppy and girlfriend into his life leaves him wide open to threats both familiar and foreign. In particular Matthias Schoenaerts, star of Roskam's Bullhead, makes for an imposing, off-balanced menace as Eric, a local tough with a dangerous rep. He senses weakness in Bob and exploits it; much like a crew of Chechen mobsters has exploited Marv. This is, in part, about the power victims give to their tormentors. Everybody knows everybody in this town, and everybody has a rep, whether it's deserved or not. Of course there's also a nosey cop (John Ortiz) sniffing around about the robbery, threatening to uncover much more about everything and everyone. 
Considering all of the talent on both sides of the camera The Drophas been flying a little under the radar. And perhaps in a way that's fitting for such an unassuming film about unassuming people to be one the season's sleepers. It's a solid first effort on our shores for Roskam, and welcome entry to the overcrowded crime genre.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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