Who sent the severed arm with the money? - The Drop (2014) Discussion

[–] sachinator-dr 10 years ago

I think it was Marv himself, who sent that package. From the conversation between the two robbers just before the robbery it was clear that this was not the real thing. They were waiting for something big. But as it was said in the beginning the Chechans select a random bar that they TRUST and do the drop. So Marv wanted it to be his bar so that he could make the final move. So he recruited a couple of dimwits to rob from them in a non drop day. But they screwed up a bit while doing so. Marv then arranged the return of the money. But since Bob has noticed one of the robber's watch, Marv decided to cut any loose ends so that Bob wont suspect anything (since Bob knew how Marv was like) They returning the money to the Chechans earned them their trust and selected their bar as the venue for the big drop, which was what Marv wanted in the first place...
PS : The second robber while getting into the car told Marv that his brother got killed the same way, after getting into someone's car. This implicates a pattern, usually followed by the same killer.
A really good movie by the way..:)

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[–] Gobobo 10 years ago

I think the Chechens sent the arm and money. They wanted Merv to suspect they knew it was him - the guy with the broken watch would've confessed - and that's why he so gutted. They actually gave him another chance. Marv was planning to give back the money, and maybe kill one or both brothers, to prove to the Chechens that he was to be trusted for the Super Bowl Game.

As he suspected they knew, he still went ahead but tried to distance himself from the robbery. Only he was so desperate the distance was only 1 and 1/2 blocks when it should've been several time zones. They were following him as they weren't sure whether to trust him or not.

Anyway, the main thing is the dog was alright at the end. It was the only innocent in the whole movie.

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We all go a little mad sometimes.

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[–] MrBelette 10 years ago

The second robber while getting into the car told Marv that his brother got killed the same way, after getting into someone's car.

Memory is a tricky thing. He didn't say "his brother", he said "someone". Meaning Ritchie, the guy killed by Bob.

Anyway I'd go for the Chechens too.

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[–] monique_eight 10 years ago

Actually, I'm watching the DVD right now and he does say "the last time anyone saw MY BROTHER ALIVE he got into the car with a guy." So maybe you should check your sh!tty memory before talking about other people.

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[–] cyberstevo 10 years ago

It was the Chechens. They found the "Watch," cut off the arm and sent it and the money back to the bar. It wasn't Marv, or else Marv wouldn't have warned Watch's brother to tell him to ditch the watch. Plus, Marv was counting on the both of them to pull off the second part of the plan.

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[–] mxlflx 10 years ago

It's uncanny how many interpretations of this scene are on this thread. It's true, you cannot trust an eyewitness, people's perceptions are clouded with everything from gf aggro, to indigestion. Having said that, it's not a mystery or ambiguous at all, it was the Chechens performing a mindf vck of a loyalty test.

I still believe. Do you still believe? - Earl Hickey

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[–] beregishahtu 10 years ago

Chechens sent the hand. You can argue about that but i think that it was not author's intention to make this element ambiguous. In the end of the day does it add anything valuable to the story if the hand was sent by Marv? Not to mention Bob...

It was clearly pointed by Marv after the meeting with Chovka that if they return his money they might end up in much worse situation. So let's say Marv changed his mind, found and killed the brother and sent his arm and the money to himself. Would Chovka not be interested where they found the money and who dared to rob his bar? Would he be satisfied with the answer that the money were found in a plastic bag in the backyard? He could interpret this answer in two ways. Either Marv and Bob are full of *beep* and think that Chovka is a moron or one of them was involved in the robbery and covertly returned the loot. Either way the result would be sad for Marv and he was smart enough to understand that.

On the other side there is more realistic scenario that the Chechens found the little brother by his old wristwatch. He gave them the money and told everything he knew but he didn't know that his brother's guy was Marv. Marv had found the older brother before Chechens and got rid of him. The hand and money in the bag was a message to Marv and Bob showing who they are dealing with.

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[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] alex_unnamed 10 years ago

The other arm.

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[–] jriley555 10 years ago

if marv did it, why the rigamarole with the bag and bloody cash - he would have as just brought in the money after dumping the body, and playng badass about catching the robber.

he was queasy about the bag, queasy about the arm.

there is no good reason to think marv did the deed. he didnt really have such a strong stomach for gore, or for looking people in the eye when killing.

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[–] firstwinsgop-1 10 years ago

Once they found the guy with the watch they must have tortured him until he told everything he knew about Marv being in on it. So they sent the hand as a message to Marv.
Kind of like - "look Marv, we know you were in on it - this is your one warning, don't do this again"

Wrong. You leave out the most important detail, and that is that the younger brother doesn't Marv. Yes, the Chechens found him, yes they tortured him and yes he probably told them all he knew, but he didn't know anything. The older brother refers to Marv as "my guy". The younger brother never knew that Marv had hired the to rip off his own joint. That's why the little brother is so nervous in the car.

The Chechens suspected Marv from the get go, but they didn't have any proof. They sent the arm for the same reason they showed him the guy being tortured in the van.

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[–] MandarinOrange 10 years ago

I think it was Marv. However, this topic is ambiguous and open to each person's interpretation:

The Chechens are seen as being very brutal with their adversaries, seen as when they reveal the tortured guy in the van. I would believe if they found the Young Watch Brother, they would definitely have tortured him and definitely learned out that his Older Brother was in on it. Therefore, the Older Brother being untouched when Marv lures him to his car later does not make sense. The Chechens would have gotten to him already.

Subsequently, if Chechens found Young Bro, then tortured their way to Older Bro, they would undoubtedly found out about Marv. I think they would have just threatened/executed Marv instead of all this horsing around. Why would they even give Marv another chance with the Superbowl drop and risk him stealing a million dollars from them and vanishing to Thailand!? If it was a test, it would be a huge, unnecessary risk.

It does not make sense for the Chechens to have found and tortured Young Bro, then take his severed arm and the money and put it in a trash bag and hang it outside the bar, so for Bob and Marv to discover it and return the bloodstained money back to them next moment. It seems too overtly indirect and convoluted to be a Chechen action.

Anyway, the book may differ and if it does, I don't find the "Chechens did it" argument really convincing.

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[–] cinephyler 10 years ago

obviously marv. can't believe all the people saying "couldn't be marv, he looked so surprised!" like he's just going to say "i did it!"

in fact, you could wonder how he already knew something grotesque was in the bag:

bob: hey, check out this bag i found.
marv: no way am i going to look in that bag man! i don't need to see that!

marv used the first robbery as a test for the second, and clearly was cutting ties and removing any suspicion by returning the money.

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[–] ChrisPaul84 10 years ago

It was Marv. Watch-Bro did not know Marv was behind it. Even if the Chitchins tortured him all he would do is turn over his brother. Who then would be tortured but wasn't.
Marv had to pay the money back or the chitchins would break his kneecaps (or whatever). He needed a way to get it back and make it look good. To Bob it looks like the Chetchins. However since the chetchins know they didn't do it either we have a plot hole or Chetchins now suspect Marv. That's why Marv gets killed in the end. Because of the severed arm they suspect Marv.

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[–] songwriter-3 10 years ago

Marv planted the severed arm:

Marv's plan was to return the 5k in order to be approved for the big drop later. What messed up his plan was Bob telling about the watch as explained by marv "now they'll think we were in on it." Bob may have have told about the watch on purpose to smoke Marv out or it may have been a knee jerk reaction of honesty after being softened up by the cop (his church buddy). More likely Bob was throwing the cop off to the whole crooked bar story (which the cop suspected) by giving him a little truth while simultaneously distancing himself from Marv in front of the Chechens (thereby proving his non-connection to the thieves).

NOW, marv has to kill the watch bro and bag the arm to throw Bob off the scent. (remember how marv hated soft hearted Bobs xmas decorations - which marv used to tie up the severed arm bag). Marv knew that Bob wouldn't tell the chechens about the arm and they probably won't ask. they accepted the explanation of the zip locked money and immediately showed their faith by making Marvs the super bowl drop.

the biggest clues to me of marv killing the watch bro was how much it bothered him
(we see him wincing about it when he's alone) and an even Bigger Clue is that when marv goes to see the older brother he was already planning to kill him. the fact that the older brother said he wanted out proved Marvs worst suspicions. Marv met with him to kill him exactly the way he did. This is obvious because Marv is driving a drop car (probably stolen). he says to the older bro "go ahead check the trunk is not lined with plastic". the car has a trunk opening button on the drivers door. marv *beep* him until he gets to
the designated, out of the way Kill spot where Marvs own car is parked close by. Marv might not have killed him if he was willing to do the job but planned for the worst which
is what happened.

Marvs plans with the brothers fell through simply because Bob told about the watch. He cleans up his own mess but is now even more desperate to score. So when crazy Eric shows up Marv thinks he can quickly salvage his plan. He plans on killing
Eric so he lines his trunk with plastic and waits near the bar where they are supposed to meet up.

Bob knows himself and his place in the world. He likes good people and doesn't care
about bad people. He respects life and death, only says what he has to, appreciates the little things, doesn't care about money or power. When possible he protects the innocent and the weak and realizes that the truth is mostly a matter of perspective. He is unflappable and calm at all times.

It's a great movie.

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