The Drop

For those who haven’t already, it’s time to start giving Tom Hardy his props. Even when the films in which he appears don’t amount to much, his chameleonic qualities — both physically and vocally — always seem to bring a vivid sense of urgency to his characters.

The latest showcase for the British actor’s versatility is The Drop, an intriguing if sometimes muddled crime thriller that marks familiar territory for screenwriter Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone).

Hardy plays Bob, a Brooklyn bartender whose social life revolves around the establishment owned by his boss and older cousin, Marv (James Gandolfini). He’s fully aware of the seedy nature of some of the clientele, and of the role of bars in funneling money to gangsters who generally run the surrounding streets.

Yet Bob isn’t prepared for the extent to which his life changes after a robbery leaves him caught in the middle, along with a stray dog he’s started to care for and the neighbor (Noomi Rapace) who becomes his ally.

Once a lowlife (Matthias Schoenaerts) starts snooping around both at Bob’s home and work, he realizes the scheme runs deeper than he first suspected, and that his own life is in danger.

The film marks the assured English-language debut for Belgian director Michael Roskam (Bullhead), whose visuals are evocative of its setting in a working-class neighborhood with deep Irish Catholic roots and also a pervasive criminal culture that frowns on snitching.

Lehane, whose sharply written script is adapted from his short story Animal Rescue, builds the tension slowly and tosses in a few clever twists in his tale of morally conflicted New Yorkers and dishonor among thieves.

Hardy mixes both strength and vulnerability in his portrayal of a tough guy whose canine affection reveals a softer side even as bodies pile up around him. While Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) is mostly squandered in a thankless role, Gandolfini brings a sense of depth and dignity in his final performance.

The Drop is a low-key, character-driven drama in which nobody is completely innocent, and trust and loyalty are in short supply. Although it tends to indulge in cliches, the performances help to smooth out some of the rough edges.

Rated R, 106 minutes.