Tom Hardy is no Nicolas Cage yet, but he’s well on his way to becoming one. Through his younger roles, such as in the Venom films, the British star has apparently learned to love characters for whom he throws himself into pure madness. Very similar to Cage, who can spice up even boring B-movies with his crazy presence.
The strong physicality by Hardy, who can effortlessly carry a film like the anti-MCU blockbuster on his broad shoulders, but also works in the other direction. This is proven, for example, by a film like The Drop – Cash, which is shown on Tele 5 on Tuesday. To this day, he is unfortunately rarely mentioned in connection with the star’s best films.
What is The Drop with Tom Hardy about?
The film by director Michaël R. Roskam is based on the short story Animal Rescue by best-selling author Dennis Lehane and is about the quiet bartender Bob (Tom Hardy). The bar previously belonged to Bob’s cousin Marv (James Gandolfini), but it is now owned by the mafia because of his debts.
Watch a German trailer for The Drop here:
The Drop Cash – Trailer (German) HD
In addition to the normal business that Bob pursues as a quiet, hard worker, the bar also repeatedly serves as a so-called Drop bar. On certain days, the mafia then uses the premises to deposit the proceeds of criminal transactions.
The situation comes to a dramatic head when Bob takes in a cute pit bull puppy that supposedly belongs to the psychopathic gangster Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts). raided and robbed the bar becomes.
In The Drop, Tom Hardy shines with calm tension and intense simmering
There’s no sign of the actor in The Drop, who would sometimes throw himself into a lobster aquarium with his head on fire for an over-the-top film like Venom. Instead, Hardy plays his bob with an almost tender calmness that still has something unsettling about it.
The star never drifts into the regions of his wildest characters and maintains a calmness in the role of the bartender dark abysses and seething potential for violence mix.
Tom Hardy doesn’t have to carry The Drop alone
Much of Tom Hardy’s powerful impact in The Drop also has to do with the setting and co-stars. At its core, the film is a drama about broken existences, the spiral of violence and wistful remorse, in which there is an underlying melancholic mood mixed with deadly escalations in the gangster milieu.
Even if Tom Hardy could carry this film all by himself with his charismatic presence, he doesn’t have to. He also gets acting support from him, for example great James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), who can be seen here in one of his last roles after his death in 2013.
Together, Hardy and Gandolfini give their cousins one touching forlornnessin which compassion and understanding for their increasingly hopeless situation are repeatedly tested by harsh shocks. But that’s exactly what makes The Drop, which stands up against ultimate hopelessness and also lets light shine into the characters’ lives, such a great film.
When is The Drop on TV?
Tele 5 broadcasts the Tom Hardy film November 26, 2024 at 8:15 p.m out of. Alternatively, you can stream The Drop – Cash with a subscription on Disney+ at any time.
This article first appeared in a similar form on Moviepilot in December 2020.