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The Bank Job
Reviewed by Theo Michelfeld
Posted: March 13, 2008

The new film The Bank Job is based on actual events, although the filmmakers admit, before the closing credits, that the case file on those events are sealed by the British government until 2054. Regardless of how much of it is true, this is a wild story and an enjoyable film. I wouldn't call it a masterful piece of directing, but when it comes to movies, a juicy plot does tend to offset almost any checklist of shortcomings. If a film's quality is measured by the viewer's level of engagement, then this is terrific stuff.

The Bank Job takes place in London in 1971, which makes it automatically not-half-bad. Anglo-philes are going to love the locations and accents in this movie, and gear-heads will dig it simply for the cars. The plot follows a group of amateur thieves who are hired by the British government to tunnel into a bank vault to rob its contents. It's all an effort to retrieve compromising photos of a royal princess stashed in one of the safety deposit boxes. But the thieves aren't permitted to know what they're after, and the government doesn't know just how unprofessional their task force is, because the mission is top secret, with numerous middle-men and buffers of deniability from the top down.

The mission's objective is, of course, finally revealed to the thieves, and that knowledge alone puts them in well over their heads. But the heist turns out to be a Pandora's Box when it also yields photos of British government officials partying with dominatrix prostitutes, and a mob ledger full of payoffs to dirty cops. Soon everyone in town, from both sides of the law, is on the not-so-cold trail of our overmatched heroes.

Jason Statham stars as Terry, a somewhat reluctant thief who loves his wife and daughters and is trying to make a quid or two before life passes him by. Statham, with his impactful knuckles and his receding hairline, is sort of a British answer to Bruce Willis. He's an action star by trade, but in this film he's given a mostly dramatic role, which he coasts through on sheer presence. Saffron Burrows co-stars as Terry's shady super-model pal, who arranges the caper on behalf of the government. She's tall and a bit beautiful—something of a presence herself. Nobody acts anybody's socks off in this movie, but the cast is filled out by numerous British role players, and a charming lot they are indeed.

If you get the feeling, while you're watching The Bank Job, that you're not experiencing cinematic greatness, it's probably because the filmmakers have chosen an unfortunately modern presentation for their vintage drama. For one thing, the editor has a bit of a hair-trigger. For another, the score is all wrong. It's rare that you watch a film and feel like the composer just didn't understand the vibe. Even if a score is bad, or cheesy, it's probably attached to a bad or cheesy film, and thus appropriate. But the synthesizer patches we're hearing in The Bank Job just don't evoke the era, and they aren't subtly or cautiously deployed either.

Too bad, because it's a good flick. The bulk of the credit should go to the screenwriters, who were given a foolproof tale to tell, and then did a great job of bringing it to sprawling life. Like so many good British yarns, this one illustrates the connections that exist in a society separated by class. Small-time crooks and government officials and everyone in between, including political radicals, MI5 agents, pornographers, and ham radio operators become a part of the story, and each character is authentically, and a bit satirically, realized. Add to that the possibility that it's all true, and you've got a densely layered slice of life. It's well worth your time. Check it out.

Copyright © 2008 Theo Michelfeld