The Banker (2020)

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Movie
Original title The banker
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2020
length 120 minutes
Rod
Director George Nolfi
script Niceole Levy ,
George Nolfi,
David Lewis Smith ,
Stan Younger
production Nnamdi Asomugha ,
Jonathan Baker ,
Brad Feinstein ,
Anthony Mackie ,
George Nolfi,
David Lewis Smith,
Joel Quarters
music H. Scott Salinas
camera Charlotte Bruus Christensen
cut Joel Quarter
occupation

The Banker is a film drama by George Nolfi , the two on the true story of black entrepreneurs is based, who built a banking and real estate empire in the 1960s by claiming their company is being waged by a white man. The leading roles are played by Samuel L. Jackson , Anthony Mackie and Nicholas Hoult .

The film was originally supposed to celebrate its world premiere on November 21, 2019 as the closing film of the AFI Film Festival . However, this was withdrawn the day before when one of the producers was accused of sexual abuse. The film was finally released on March 6, 2020 in selected US theaters and was released on March 20, 2020 on AppleTV + and as video-on-demand .

action

After Bernard Garrett had to work as a shoe shiner as a teenager in the small town of Willis in Texas and the ambitious self-taught man learned a lot about making money by listening to the men whose shoes he was cleaning, he has now become a successful client. His father Britton had always believed that one day he would become something. However, since Bernard Garrett sees greater potential in Los Angeles, he moves in 1954 with his wife Eunice and their son Bernard Jr. there to realize his dream of owning property in the white quarters. His idea is to buy real estate in white neighborhoods that border black neighborhoods.

To get around the unspoken ban on selling people who look like him, the African American works with an Irish businessman, Patrick Barker, who finds Garrett's idea interesting and agrees to be the white face of their business. When Garrett figures out how to buy the tallest commercial building in downtown LA, the old Bankers Building, which would make the banking institutions inside it his tenants, he teams up with nightclub owner Joe Morris, who joins as a co-investor . For this they need the help of Matt Steiner, whom they turn into a white straw man. To do this, with the help of Eunice, they not only have to teach Steiner how to successfully conclude contracts, but also how to play golf or enjoy a good scotch. In a very short time Garrett and Morris manage to build up a real estate and banking empire, but they both have to act from the background and pretend to be caretakers and Steiner's chauffeur.

production

The film was produced by Romulus Entertainment and Iam21 Entertainment. Directed by George Nolfi , who co- wrote the script with Niceole Levy , David Lewis Smith and Stan Younger .

Anthony Mackie plays Bernard Garrett. Gregory Alan Williams plays his father Britton Garrett, Nia Long plays his wife Eunice and Samuel L. Jackson plays nightclub owner Joe Morris, who joins Garrett as a co-investor. Nicholas Hoult plays her working-class front man Matt Steiner. Garrett's son, Bernard Jr. is played by newcomer Jaylon Gordon .

Most of the filming took place in Atlanta , like here in Midtown

The shooting took place in the fall of 2018 on about 30 days of shooting in and around Atlanta, for example in the districts of Midtown and Buckhead and in Douglasville and Newnan near Atlanta in early October 2018. Atlanta Midtown, where you can find, among other things, Ponce De Leon Avenue and West Peachtree Street, and filmed in the Biltmore Hotel and Apartment Complex at 817 West Peachtree Street near The Peach Shopping Center, is a densely populated commercial and residential area. In Douglasville, about 20 miles west of Atlanta, filming took place in the Douglas County Sentinel office building on Bowden Street. The office space had been converted into a bank from the 1950s for turning purposes. Further recordings were made in Los Angeles , one of the locations of the film. The camerawoman was Charlotte Bruus Christensen .

The film editor was Joel Viertel , one of the producers of the film, who, according to his own statements, was working with the video editing software Final Cut Pro X for the first time .

The film music was composed by H. Scott Salinas . The soundtrack album, which contains a total of 20 pieces of music, was released for download by Decca Classics on March 20, 2020.

In July 2019, Apple acquired the rights to the film. The first trailer was presented in early November 2019. The film premiere was planned as the closing film of the AFI Film Festival on November 21, 2019, but was withdrawn by Apple the day before the announced screening. Ultimately, the film celebrated its world premiere on March 6, 2020 with a limited theatrical release in the USA and was released on March 20, 2020 on AppleTV + and as video-on-demand .

reception

Bernard Garrett Jr. controversy

The abuse allegations that led to the cancellation of the planned world premiere in November 2019 by Apple concerned Bernard Garrett jr. The son of the businessman Bernard Garrett portrayed in the film, who was on board as a producer, is said to have abused his younger half-sisters Cynthia and Sheila Garrett as children. The film also leaves out the two sisters and their mother and instead focuses on Garrett's first wife.

Age ratings and reviews

After the film had originally received an R rating from the MPAA in the USA , which corresponds to a 17-year-old rating, this was later changed to PG-13 by the MPA's Classification and Rating Administration.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Joe Morris

Overall, the film received mixed to positive reactions from critics. While critics repeatedly highlighted the outstanding achievements of Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson , many remarked that only these failed to ignore the fact that The Banker is a partly boring film with mostly stilted dialogue, which is full of clichés and that there is a lack of individuality.

Forbes' Scott Mendelson explains that George Nolfi's The Banker structures this important story of the past like a crime, both wit and tragedy that Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris are not criminals. You don't necessarily break the law, but you have to pretend to others that the white man is the boss. As the real heads of the operation, they are forced to hide in the shadows and play chauffeur and caretaker roles. Their "plan" is simply to make money first by buying real estate and then buying a bank that allows them to lend to members of the black community who would otherwise be excluded from the so-called American dream. Because Hollywood no longer makes films like this, he is in good hands with the streaming service, according to Mendelson.

Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times writes that Nolfi, who co- wrote the script with Niceole Levy , David Lewis Smith and Stan Younger , is unfortunately not a Steven Soderbergh when it comes to putting the film into a complete package. The first half of the film consists of banal dialogues and choppy scenes. After that, the actors could act more lively. As the main themes of the film Abele addition to the privileges and called civil rights and the racism and sexism .

The Guardian's Benjamin Lee, on the other hand, thinks The Banker works best to understand Garrett's planned mission, thanks in particular to Anthony Mackie, an actor who, despite his charisma as a movie star and impressive versatility, has always been under the radar . Scenes in which he and Samuel L. Jackson try to prepare Matt Steiner, played by Nicholas Hoult , for the business are extremely entertaining.

Awards

Humanitas Prize 2020

  • Nomination for Best Independent Film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Ryan Lattanzio: AFI FEST Will Close With 'The Banker' World Premiere, Apple's Most High-Profile Play Yet. In: indiewire.com, October 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d Robert Abele: Review: 'The Banker', starring Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson, eventually earns its keep. In: Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c Benjamin Lee: The Banker review - Apple's first movie is a slick yet patchy racism drama. In: The Guardian, March 19, 2020.
  4. ↑ Film Review: Mackie leads a little-known story in 'The Banker'. In: The Mainichi, March 19, 2020.
  5. ↑ Rose Pacatte: 'The Banker' is a bodacious film about social activism. In: National Catholic Reporter on March 14, 2020.
  6. ↑ a b c Varun Patel: Where Was 'The Banker' Filmed? In: thecinemaholic.com, March 5, 2020.
  7. ↑ a b c Oliver Peters talks to the Producer and Editor of The Banker. In: fcp.co, March 7, 2020.
  8. ↑ Ashley Steves: Atlanta What's Filming: 'The Banker' Starring Samuel L. Jackson + Anthony Mackie. In: backstage.com, October 12, 2018.
  9. ^ H. Scott Salinas Scoring George Nolfi's 'The Banker'. In: filmmusicreporter.com, October 14, 2019.
  10. ↑ 'The Banker' soundtrack details. In: filmmusicreporter.com, March 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ Adam Chitwood: 'The Banker' Trailer: Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie Lead Apple Original Movie. In: collider.com, November 4, 2019.
  12. ↑ Erik Anderson: AFI FEST sets Apple's 'The Banker' as Closing Night Film. In: awardswatch.com, October 3, 2019.
  13. ↑ Pete Hammond: AFI Fest Abruptly Cancels Apple's 'The Banker' As Closing-Night Film In Unprecedented Move. In: deadline.com, November 20, 2019.
  14. ↑ a b Scott Mendelson: 'The Banker' Review: AppleTV's First Movie Is An Excellent Investment. In: Forbes, March 6, 2020.
  15. ↑ a b Apple surprisingly cancels “The Banker” world premiere. In: Die Presse, November 21, 2020.
  16. ↑ Mike Fleming Jr: 'The Banker' Director George Nolfi Separates Content From Controversy As Apple Stays Mum On Pic Release Following Sexual Assault Allegation Against Protagonist's Son. In: deadline.com, December 4, 2019.
  17. ↑ https://www.filmratings.com/Content/PR/CARA%20Appeals%20Release%20-%20The%20Banker%20-%209.19.19.pdf
  18. ^ The Banker. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  19. ^ Cary Darling: Houston man gets his due in 'The Banker' with Samuel L. Jackson. The biographical drama also starring Anthony Mackie, Nicholas Hault and Nia Long shines a light on a little-known fight in the civil-rights struggle. In: houstonchronicle.com, March 5, 2020.
  20. ^ The Banker. In: chicagoreader.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  21. ↑ http://dwightbrownink.com/the-banker/
  22. ↑ Josh Spiegel: 'The Banker' Review: Apple's New Movie is Strangely Inert and Lifeless. In: slashfilm.com, March 6, 2020.
  23. ↑ Patrick Hipes: Humanitas Prize Finalists Include 'Bombshell', 'When They See Us'. In: deadline.com, November 15, 2019.