James Gandolfini’s last film comes bittersweet because he’s a shell of the character he played in HBO’s, “The Sopranos.” In “The Drop,” he plays bartender named Marv with a supporting role who, with his cousin Bob (Tom Hardy), run the bar. Their big secret is that the bar also moonlights under the Chechen mob as a “money drop” for all their underground money in Brooklyn.

The feature length film, which runs just under two hours, provides a mirage of back alleys and house interiors nicely woven into the story by its director, Michael R. Roskam. Hardy plays the protagonist in the film, projecting a modern day Deniro, with his passive but loner attitude. It’s the bar, however, and the neighborhood they live in that oozes more color and content than the actors. The streets are coffins to these deviants, and stray dogs are beaten.

Bob and Marv run a tight shift, and the bar is owned by the Chechen mob, if anything goes wrong the pair pay out of their pocket.

The neighborhood in Brooklyn they live is full of people who’ll think of robbing their local bar for an easy score. Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts) did the best acting job and overall performance in this, because he played the man with the dishonest and slippery profile who outshines this high caliber cast.

Gandolfini and Hardy’s dialogue together is eloquently written by its screenwriter Dennis Lehane, who has written novels and for shows like HBO’s “The Wire,” that deals in the underbelly of street crime. The story has a lot of talking, but its talks of losing one’s identity and being alone. All the built up anger and money will flow to the bar where Marv and Bob will need to step-up for their own sakes.