The Banker

Name: The Banker
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: March 6, 2020
Duration: 120 min
Rating: 59
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Chris Gann, Colm Meaney, Gregory Alan Williams, James DuMont

2020

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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The Banker

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Movie Details & Credits

Apple TV+ | Release Date: March 6, 2020 | R

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Chris Gann, Colm Meaney, Gregory Alan Williams, James DuMont, Jason Davis, Jessie Usher, Michael Harney, Nia Long, Nicholas Hoult, Paul Ben-Victor, Rhoda Griffis, Samuel L. Jackson, Scott Johnson, Taylor Gildersleeve

Summary: Revolutionary businessmen Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson) devise an audacious and risky plan to take on the racist establishment of the 1960s by helping other African Americans pursue the American dream. Along with Garrett's wife Eunice (Nia Long), they train a working class white man, Matt SteinerRevolutionary businessmen Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson) devise an audacious and risky plan to take on the racist establishment of the 1960s by helping other African Americans pursue the American dream. Along with Garrett's wife Eunice (Nia Long), they train a working class white man, Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), to pose as the rich and privileged face of their burgeoning real estate and banking empire - while Garrett and Morris pose as a janitor and a chauffeur. Their success ultimately draws the attention of the federal government, which threatens everything the four have built.… Expand

Director: George Nolfi

Genre(s): Biography, Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 120 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Ty Burr

Mar 25, 2020

George Nolfi directs with a TV-movie straightforwardness and at two hours the film is overlong, but the story is an eye-opener and the central performances are terrific. Read full review

Carly Darling

Mar 4, 2020

Thanks to the three strong performances at its heart — especially that of a wisecracking Samuel L. Jackson (who’s also one of the producers) — The Banker often is as entertaining as it is enlightening. It’s “Hidden Figures” with redlining instead of rocket fuel. Read full review

Simon Thompson

Mar 4, 2020

An accessible, efficiently made but not necessarily invigorating look at finance, reality, and racial injustice in the U.S. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Monica Castillo

Mar 6, 2020

The Banker remains only serviceable. Read full review

The Guardian Benjamin Lee

Mar 31, 2020

Inspiring until the end if not entirely entertaining. Read full review

Lawrence Garcia

Mar 4, 2020

Just as it reduces Garrett’s character to a few tenacious traits, the film, in presenting his inspiring story, loses perspective on the broader picture. Read full review

Josh Spiegel

Mar 6, 2020

The Banker is like a shell of a movie, with a desperate lack of personality. The ingredients are there, down to the inevitable moment in the end credits when photos of the real people are placed alongside the actors playing them. Yet just as Apple TV+’s original series are lacking the element of dramatic excitement, so too is The Banker. Read full review

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User Reviews

Joudz

Mar 24, 2020

Every human needs to see this movie! Very inspiring, well done! Incredible true story!

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

stretea

Mar 6, 2020

This movie is an incredibly powerful true story set during Civil Rights about two forgotten heroes that inspires people to pursue their version of the American Dream at all costs and not let obstacles get in the way such as race and discrimination.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

Timewavexero22

Mar 22, 2020

Great untold story of two ambitious entrepreneurs. A must watch for anyone whose a fan of new source material.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

fachrulfebrian

Apr 26, 2020

good story and strong performence. and I love movie about justice. just watching

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

bradens584

Dec 20, 2020

The Banker had a rough start. It suffered the infamous true story to movie syndrome, which is like the book to movie syndrome but ten times worse. You can’t tell a person’s entire life in a movie without either seeming disjointed or changing the source material massively. Too many eventsThe Banker had a rough start. It suffered the infamous true story to movie syndrome, which is like the book to movie syndrome but ten times worse. You can’t tell a person’s entire life in a movie without either seeming disjointed or changing the source material massively. Too many events happen in a person’s life and not all of them are going to fit into one convenient narrative. The best thing to do when adapting a true story to the screen is to make it a TV show. TV shows do not need to have the same pacing as a film and can cover multiple arcs both on an episodic and serialised basis. And that’s what they should have done with the Banker. The film skips over a large and extremely significant part of the characters’ lives and sometimes has to sacrifice character building for cramming the sheer amount of events in the lives of these quite extraordinary people into one 2 hour movie. But that being said, once it gets going, the Banker is a really enjoyable film. The writing is good and the plot, while poorly paced, tells a very interesting story. And a story that is important and poignant in today’s social climate surrounding issues of racial tension. And the core of this movie is the brilliant performances by Anthony Mackie and the incredible Samuel L. Jackson.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

FadeBlack

Nov 17, 2021

Two fantastic, very watchable actors, but a story devoid of almost any and all intrigue or interest. Non-eventful, or at least the events depicted were not given enough gravity.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mauro_Lanari

Apr 16, 2020

(Mauro Lanari)
Ethnic equality of access to the American dream. But hadn't it turned out that it was a nightmare instead?

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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