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Bank, The
The Cinema Guild


9.3

based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 3 votes
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Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring David Wenham, Anthony LaPaglia, Sibylla Budd, Steve Rodgers, Mitchell Butel, Mandy McElhinney, Greg Stone, and Kazuhiro Muroyama

This anti-banking parable tells the story of a brilliant mathematician (Wenham) who has designed a computer program to predict the fluctuations of the world's stock markets. Conflicts emerge when the program comes to the attention of a cunning bank president (LaPaglia).

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Robert Connolly
DIRECTED BY:	Robert Connolly
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 17, 2003 Video: June 17, 2003 Theatrical: October 25, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	99 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Australia / Italy

Audience Award for Best First Film (tie), 2002 Portland International Film Festival; Best Original Screenplay, 2001 Australian Film Institute

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Variety David Stratton

Will connect with anyone who ever had a bad experience with a bank or finance company, and provides a satisfyingly loathsome character in Anthony LaPaglia's engaging protrayal of a corporate shark.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

A hokey but highly entertaining tale of corporate greed that should be especially satisfying if you're pissed off at big business.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It blends an intriguing concept with a suspenseful plot, and the result is a gripping 103 minutes at the movies.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

The film is not without its flaws, but it sports a terrific production design that integrates magically into the story -- as well as another top-notch performance by Anthony LaPaglia.

Miami Herald Marta Barber

The Bank, despite its faulty finale, is a fun and thrilling ride.

LA Weekly Jon Strickland

Like "Wall Street" before it, The Bank never amounts to more than a glossy comic book, and first-time writer-director Robert Connolly stumbles with his plotting and his direction of Wenham.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The upshot is a whopper of an ending that is as silly as it is satisfying.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

The sleek, well-oiled, well-acted The Bank, while as meaty as a steak, is short on sizzle.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Handsomely shot and edited, The Bank benefits greatly from the brutal ministrations of LaPaglia,

Chicago Tribune Emily Nunn

Like the film itself, Jim Doyle is smart enough to be engaging and lovely to look at, but he's too one-dimensional to be satisfying.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Though the script's twists and turns are fairly conventional and the Davis subplot is handled in an awkwardly obvious way, first-time feature filmmaker Robert Connolly understands the power of style.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Polished and visualized with a sharp sense of place, writer-director Robert Connolly's drama is propped up by bogus science (the relationship between stock undulations and the Mandelbrot set is never made plausible), and the characters are paint-by-numbers.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Despite a crafty premise and a clever kink in the tale that almost saves it, Connolly isn't dexterous enough to achieve the Hitchockian level of suspense the movie needs.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

LaPaglia brings the hero into a world of greed and compromised values, but his fork-tongued monologues aren't remotely seductive, which makes the ending a foregone conclusion.

Film Threat Vicky Dimitrakopoulos

Neither a stimulating satire nor a serious exposure of the operations of the finance industry.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

david p. gave it a10:
Connolly uses intellect and insight to create a hitchock style suspenseful piece of drama that keeps you guessing to the end - great script.

Mahree D. gave it a 9:
Great viewing at home on VHS. Oh what wicked webs can be weaved and how retribution can be mightier.

Jo C. gave it a 9:
Very clever. An exciting film with an enthralling storyline and an excellent ending. I really enjoyed it.

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Bank, The The Cinema Guild

Bank, The
The Cinema Guild