:
David Wenham,
Anthony LaPaglia,
Mitchell Butel,
more...
:
Robert Connolly
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: New Yorker Video
: Drama, Foreign, Crime, Australia & New Zealand
: 103 min.
: English
see additional details...
|
|
A young man fascinated with the workings of the world of banking forms an alliance with an unscrupulous corporate predator in this drama. Jim Doyle (David Wenham) developed an interest in finance while he was a young boy growing up in a small Australian town, and as an adult he and his partners have developed BTSE (Bank Training Simulation Experiment), a sophisticated computer program that can anticipate the ups and downs of the world's money markets. Jim's program attracts the interest of Simon O'Riley (Anthony LaPaglia), the head of a major Aussie financial services corporation, Centabank; O'Riley is looking to cut costs and increase profits, and he's convinced BTSE can help him do just that. However, O'Riley has other, more aggressive ways of boosting his bottom line; Centabank has been shutting down small-town branch offices that have been faithfully serving customers for decades, and has developed a new enthusiasm for foreclosing on loans from smaller customers having trouble making ends meet. Two such customers are Wayne and Diane Davis (Steve Rodgers and Mandy McElhinney), who obtained a loan to start their own business building houseboats; when the local economy went into a nosedive, the Davises found themselves under the thumb of Centabank, and the bank's hounding of the couple led to an unfortunate accident that took the life of their young son. Determined to make Centabank pay for their son's death, Wayne takes on the corporation with the help of Stephen (Mitchell Buell), an activist lawyer. Jim, meanwhile, becomes romantically involved with Michelle (Sibylla Budd), a Centabank employee, and through her gets a clearer idea of just what O'Riley is trying to do. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
Lantana
The mysteries within are as important as the exterior mystery in this moody drama from Down Under, which also starred LaPaglia
Boiler Room
More fun with ethical dilemmas, here featuring unscrupulous stockbrokers on the prowl
The Spanish Prisoner
Mamet, math, Martin
GreenCine Staff Pick: Robert Connolly's The Bank is a well-made, tense little thriller from Down Under which manages to make the world of finance and math interesting, even to those of us who don't religiously follow NASDAQ. The opening credits, reminiscent of Vertigo, pull you in, the Philip Glass-like music hypnotizes you, the Wall Street-like morality debate will fascinate. While some of its elements don't feel all that fresh (and listening to the director's fairly pretentious audio commentary won't change your mind), The Bank is presented in a fresh way, the acting is quite good, and the ethical dilemmas debated (huge corporate banks that care not one iota about the common man) are extremely timely. It's a bit funny to see Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia, more often seen these days on American TV shows and American movies, being in a film from his home country and yet playing an American - but he does so quite well. The characters aren't as deep as you might hope for, but deep enough as thrillers go, and the farm family in particular is poignantly captured. There are some genuinely surprising (if occasionally farfetched) little twists as the plot unfolds, and the moody and tense atmosphere of this cool, unfeeling world is heightened by Tristan Milani's cinematography. All in all, well worth a rental for anyone looking for a thriller that doesn't pander to the audience. -- Craig Phillips
|
| Unusual Genre, Unusually Well-Done
by talltale
May 12, 2006 - 10:50 AM PDT
|
|
|
4 out of 6 members found this review helpful
|
A terrifically-paced little melodrama/thriller about money (and the place most people keep it), THE BANK should have caused a much bigger hit on the radar of intelligent moviegoers. Australian films rarely generate more than a mini-blip, which is too bad. Discover the fun to be had here, as excellent actors David Wenham and Anthony LaPaglia bring home the bacon with lip-smackingly good performances (LaPaglia is at the top of his very fine form) and writer/director Robert Connolly pulls together a swift, smart David & Goliath tale that is every bit as timely in 2006 as when it was made five years previous.
Bearing comparison to Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" ("The Bank" is the better film), it blends two disparate stories, one of which threatens to capsize into sentimentality. But Connolly manages to give feelings their due, while racing ahead and pulling viewers along quite niftily. The final scene, in particular, is a model of taste, intelligence and restraint. Thank you, GC, for the recommendation (via your weekly updates) of this unusual genre piece I will now suggest to everyone I know. After you've watched, check out the Special Feature on storyboarding--which offers a lot of interesting info and visuals in a very short time. |
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.61)
18 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
rmarkd
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.