Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini were great, but Rocco is the true star of The Drop

The Drop, which opened last weekend, features stellar performances by the late James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace, and especially Tom Hardy, but the dog Rocco really stole the whole film.

Directed by Michael R. Roskam with a screenplay by Dennis Lehane adapted from one of his short stories, The Drop is a crime thriller-love story with a twist. It’s set in a world where no one can be trusted, but almost all of the film’s heart and tension centers around Rocco.

He was a pit bull puppy who had to be played by three separate dogs because they kept growing up during filming (this is a common practice with dogs, and even babies.) Here’s Tom Hardy at the New York premiere with Zora, one of the fine actresses who portrayed Rocco:

A video about the movie, featuring Rocco:

It can’t be easy to make a serious crime thriller that centers so much of the plot around a puppy, and this film nails it.

It’s also not often that you come away from a suspenseful movie that exposes the dark underbelly of human nature with an intense urge to adopt a rescue puppy.