The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Tangible assets
Mackie, Jackson help make controversial Apple TV+ offering ‘The Banker’ worth a watch
Before we get into the quality of “The Banker” — an inspired-by-true-events drama film that recently debuted on Apple TV+ — you should know this film was supposed to land on the tech giant’s streaming platform last year, as well as see a theatrical run that would have made it eligible for Hollywood’s end-of-year awards. ¶ The controversy that led to the film being pushed into 2020 is complicated and stems from allegations of abuse levied by daughters of the film’s subject against their half-brother, who had been a producer of the film but is no longer involved with it. You can read up on the claims and decide whether you want to see the film. ¶ If you are able to set those concerns aside, “The Banker” is a highly satisfying two hours of inspirational drama. Sure, it often feels too tidy — this easily could be mistaken for a Disney offering — but its subject is highly compelling.
That subject is Bernard Garrett, a black man who, in the 1960s, found a way to buy banks in rural Texas and fight racism by providing loans to people of color who otherwise couldn’t obtain them. After getting a glimpse of Bernard in 1965 — portrayed, as he will be for most of the film, by Anthony Mackie — we jump back to 1938 Willis, Texas, where a young Bernard is praised by white men for the thorough job he does of shining their shoes. He also eavesdrops on white men having business meetings, filling a notebook with financial concepts he’s picking up. That is, until he’s spotted and chased away. “You were born the wrong color,” says his deflated father (Gregory Alan Williams), adding that white men won’t let him have money even if he is good with it. Young Bernard counters that perhaps that is so in Texas. Cut to 1954, when he and his wife, Eunice (Nia Long), are arriving in Los Angeles, where Bernard plans to start amassing wealth. Nia introduces him to black entrepreneur Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson) at a jazz club Joe owns, and Bernard is turned off when the man offers him a drink. “It’s 4 p.m.,” Bernard says flatly. “I know,” counters the gregarious Joe, “you’re starin’ late!”
Eventually, Bernard warms to Joe and — after Bernard has fought his way into being a behind-thedeals player in local real estate — the two team up on an ambitious venture: attempting to buy a building in downtown LA that’s home to 12 banks. This stretch is “The Banker” at its most enjoyable, thanks to the fact Bernard and Joe need a white frontman for their endeavor. They select Bernard’s employee Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult) and take turns giving him crash courses on the skills he’ll need to pull off his dealings with the building’s wealthy owner; while Bernard tries to cram Matt’s head with mathematical and business concepts, Joe teaches him to golf. Matt is slow to pick up on everything being thrown at him, but he gets there — or at least close enough. As you probably can guess, buy the building they do, and financially rewarding it becomes. Although it had taken some convincing by Bernard for Joe to go along with that risky plan, Bernard has a harder time swaying Joe to help him buy his hometown Texas bank. Joe accuses Bernard of being less interested in the business side of the idea than the social-activism end — Bernard very much wants to help blacks in the area secure loans — but Joe ultimately says yes, as does Matt. Speaking of Matt, he learns a lot about banking from Bernard in the matter of only a few months and begins to have ambitions of his own. However, those plans — reluctantly agreed to by Bernard and Joe — threaten everything they’ve built, as do outside forces interested in seeing the social order of Texas remain as it is. George Nolfi, who helmed the solid 2011 sci-fi thriller “The Adjustment Bureau,” is in the director’s chair for “The Banker” and is one of four credited screenwriters. Nolfi plays it very safe with “The Banker,” allowing the film only to dip its toes into the ugliest aspects of racism, but he helps create a narrative that is engaging from beginning to end. Lively camera work by cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen (“A Quiet Place”) and highly complementary score by H. Scott Salinas give “The Banker” just the right energy for the tone established by Nolfi. The biggest reason “The Banker” works, though, is Mackie, who in recent years has portrayed The Falcon in Marvel Cinematic Universe films but whose myriad credits also include “The Hurt Locker” and Nolfi’s aforementioned “The Adjustment Bureau.” With “The Banker,” Mackie is asked to be someone we want to root for but who seldom displays big bursts of emotion. Quite simply, he nails it. While never flashy, his brainy Bernard is consistently interesting. Meanwhile, fellow MCU veteran Jackson — his lengthy list of credits includes several turns as Marvel character Nick Fury — doesn’t bring anything new to the table as Joe. That said, Jackson strikes a nice balance between giving Joe a big enough personality to offset the reserved Bernard and not going over the top with the character. And though he’s not quite a reason to make time for “The Banker,” Hoult (“Tolkien,” “Dark Phoenix”) has his moments, as well. From a strictly entertainment perspective, it’s worth making time for “The Banker” if you have Apple TV+ or have thought about giving the service a look.