JAMES GANDOLFINI’S LAST FILM – THE DROP – NOW ON DVD

Firstly, disregarding the content of this story for a moment, the acting, in particular by Tom Hardy – a British actor who has starred in The Dark Knight Rises, and many other US and UK films, and Noomi Rapace (she is mesmerising in The Gril with The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire) is a treat to the audience as these two thespians put meat on the bones of their respective characters.  The film is cuddly at times, violent at times and definitely scary.  Cuddly – because the life of a growing puppy has become part of the death threats and bribes, violent – threats and counter threats and more, pervade the story, and scary – severed limbs feature just to put an edge on the saga.  It is not made entirely clear where the packages of money “dropped” into the bar in secret posting boxes comes from, but the audience is left in no doubt that the subculture of this Brooklyn neighbourhood is unsafe and dominated by thugs, many of whom don’t have any right to be there.  James Gandolfini played a suitably screwed-up role – the last before he sadly died, as a gangster on the edge who committed murder, more or less at the drop of a hat.  For the acting alone, this films is worth watching and some will definitely go for it as this genre of movie is well loved by a sizeable number of cinema goers. (run time 106 mins) Penny Nair Price