The Thriller Drop Is a Perfect Addition to the Bad-First-Date Canon

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The film “Drop” isn’t strictly a cautionary tale about mindfulness in the digital age, but it’s not entirely unrelated either. The main character, Violet (Meghann Fahy), is on a rare date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar), a thoughtful man who doesn’t seem bothered by her status as a widow with a child. Despite his seemingly ideal qualities, she finds it hard to put down her phone. The reason for her distraction is dire – someone in the restaurant has taken hostage both her son and her sister, threatening to harm them if she doesn’t comply with their demands, even going so far as to threaten the man she’s with. This outlandish scenario sets up a thrilling narrative, but what makes it compelling is Fahy’s convincing portrayal of a woman torn between her desire to give Henry her full attention and the urgent messages on her phone. In an early scene, when the villain first reveals himself through a series of threatening text messages, I found myself wishing she had used a focus app to help her stay present in the moment.

In the film titled “Drop,” which is based on a digital version of AirDrop called DigiDrop, we find a rather unconventional resolution to a problem that might have been more straightforwardly resolved by physically harming a character named Henry. However, a movie like this, directed by Christopher Landon (known for “Happy Death Day”) and written by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach, is not watched for its logical coherence but for its creative spin on the premise. And just as the film “Drop” premiered at SXSW and will be released in theaters on April 11, it delivers on this promise quite effectively.

The protagonist, Violet, is portrayed as intelligent without being burdened with unbelievable abilities. She navigates her predicament cleverly rather than resorting to implausible actions to drive the plot. For example, when Violet starts receiving mysterious drops, she doesn’t hide them or act suspiciously, but instead shares them with Henry in a believable manner. He dismisses them as a prank while trying to guess the culprit, providing an opportunity for some background information about the proximity of the suspect.

In its most engaging moments, “Drop” attaches high stakes to typical first-date behavior, exploring how many unusual actions Violet can get away with before Henry becomes suspicious and decides to leave.

The movie “Drop” is primarily focused on a significant portion of its runtime, which was strategically kept short at approximately 95 minutes to avoid overstaying its welcome. It was made under certain constraints, such as being set almost entirely in Palate, a luxurious Chicago establishment characterized by blond wood beams and warm lighting atop a skyscraper, reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Trap.” However, the film shares the closest resemblance with Wes Craven’s 2005 thriller “Red Eye,” in which Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams develop an interaction at an airport bar that escalates into a tense situation on their subsequent flight. In this movie, there is also a underlying trauma related to the main narrative, as Violet has survived a violent abusive relationship. This aspect of the storyline could potentially veer off course. However, Fahy skillfully manages to keep the film cohesive. As her performance in “The White Lotus” showcased, she is adept at conveying complex emotions without uttering a word, and she delivers an equally impressive portrayal here, allowing us to feel Violet’s internal turmoil while maintaining an outward appearance of calm and attentiveness. In essence, watching her is like being in the presence of someone constantly checking their social media feeds despite knowing they shouldn’t. Fortunately, unlike that person, Violet has a valid reason for being unable to disconnect from her digital world.

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2025-03-10 23:54