A widowed mother’s first date in years takes a terrifying turn when she’s bombarded with anonymous threatening messages on her phone during their upscale dinner, leaving her questioning if her charming date is behind the harassment.
Director Christopher Landon, with his latest high-concept thriller, clearly understands that the story is wholly implausible, because all over “Drop” is the signature of a filmmaker having a bit of fun with the audience. The concept is Hitchcockian, in that the scenario is the tightly wound stuff of classic mystery movies, but because Landon knows that we basically know how all this will go down, he gives us some surprises in other departments. The gist of the concept is that a woman goes to meet a man at a swanky restaurant for a lavish date, only to be trapped in a terrifying situation involving an unseen antagonist. That’s nothing new, but the gimmick here is that the antagonist uses digital-drop technology to track our heroine’s every move, including physically, since one must be within only a few dozen feet to send a drop.
That means most of the plot, from a screenplay by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, takes place within a restaurant, named Palate, at the top of a high-rise. Also, Violet (Meghann Fahy) has a slight fear of heights, in addition to a lot of other deeply ingrained fears on account of being a survivor of domestic abuse. The opening scene establishes a potentially violent end for her ex-husband, and the following scene, set a few years later as Violet heads back into the dating world, defines her. Another part of that, of course, is the performance from Fahy, which begins with a certain level of complexity and only deepens as the frightening scenario plays out.
The other central character is her date, obviously, a nice and blandly handsome man named Henry (Brandon Sklenar), whom she met on a dating app. Both are relatively nervous, and then the digital drops begin to arrive, setting into motion a game Violet must play to avoid the consequences. The chief consequence is the murder of her son Toby (an adorable Jacob Robinson), who stays home with Violet’s sister and choice babysitter Jen (Violett Beane). Not only has a dangerous individual situated himself within the cavernous dining hall, but also a killer has infiltrated her home.
To be frank about the story here, since the trappings are relatively familiar, there isn’t much tension about the identity of the killer and his accomplice (the latter, indeed, is so blatantly telegraphed that a particular musical sting in the climax is an indulgence). The joy of watching the movie, though, is in how Jacobs, Roach, and Landon introduce the motley crew of suspects and gradually force us to use our powers of deduction to take a guess. It could be the flamboyantly gregarious waiter Matt (Jeffery Self), who’s on his first shift and raring to please, or mercurial fellow diner Connor (Travis Nelson), always on his phone and impassively glancing at Violet and Henry. It could be pianist Phil (Ed Weeks), who’s a bit too flirtatious, or bartender Cara (Gabrielle Ryan), who’s a bit too concerned.
It could also be none of them, but someone else entirely, for reasons as inconsequential as his or her ultimate identity. The movie isn’t really about its payoff, which in any case requires a fairly standard action set piece (and a not-at-all standard use of Chekhov’s Toy Monster Truck, which is enough to inspire a big cheer/laugh combo). It’s also not really about tight internal logic (the use of a computer at one point, for instance, would be entirely impossible, given the specific circumstances, and the timing of a final confrontation relies upon a few too many conveniences). “Drop,” in its craftily entertaining way, is all about its gimmick, the momentum the filmmakers draw from that gimmick, and the excuses they can use to keep the scenario going.
In Theaters Friday, April 11th
