In his final role before his death, actor James Gandolfini returned to the criminal underworld that made him famous.

In The Drop which has premiered at the Toronto film festival Gandolfini plays former crime boss Marv who is now in the pocket of a new and crueller operation.

Tom Hardy (Star Trek: Nemesis, Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Dark Knight Rises and the upcoming Mad Max reboot) is a Brooklyn bartender at a neighbourhood pub that doubles as the drop – a place for local Chechen gangsters to launder money.

When a money drop is stolen, they must weigh who poses the greater threat – the Chechens or a sharp cop played by John Ortiz.

The film was directed by Michael Roskam (Bullhead) and also stars Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead, Rust and Bone).

American author Dennis Lehane, whose novels Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone were adapted into films, built up one of his own short stories into the script for this film.

When Gandolfini was cast, he said he wanted to throw in more dialogue “because of how Gandolfini can turn street speech into a symphony.”

Gandolfini died of a heart attack in Rome in June 2013 shortly after shooting the film. He was 51.

The New Jersey-born actor had shot to fame with his portrayal of emotionally vulnerable mafia boss Tony Soprano in the hit television series, which earned him three Emmys and a Golden Globe.

Another film released after his death, the romantic comedy Enough Said with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, also premiered at the Toronto film festival.