Michaël R. Roskam’s tense second feature offers subdued fatalism in and amongst the potential cruelty of things unseen.

General life and character progression is seemingly set aside in The Drop’s near-dystopian, fatalistic domain. Allusion to an eventual end-point is also kept well out of sight, opting instead to draw upon the bizarre significance of minor happenings and the impossibility of change.

Long-established nature and issues of trust also feature prominently, working cleverly in step with Hardy’s thematically restrained performance. In taking a minimalist approach to its unknowable world, The Drop effectively mirrors the strange complexity of the seemingly mundane.

Michaël R. Roskam’s The Drop thoughtfully alludes to eternal significance of everyday events, and the curious coincidences that run alongside unseen.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini

DIRECTOR: Michaël R. Roskam

WRITERS: Dennis Lehane

SYNOPSIS: A bartender unwittingly becomes involved with criminal enterprises following a robbery at his workplace.