Synopsis
In the 1960s, two entrepreneurs hatch an ingenious business plan to fight for housing integration—and equal access to the American Dream.
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Cast
- Anthony MackieBernard Garrett
- Samuel L. JacksonJoe Morris
- Nicholas HoultMatt Steiner
- Nia LongEunice Garrett
- Jessie T. UsherTony Jackson
- Colm MeaneyPatrick Barker
- Paul Ben-VictorDonald Silverthorne
- James DuMontSenator McClellan
- Taylor BlackSusie
- Gregory Alan WilliamsBritton Garrett
Recommendations
- 75
San Francisco Chronicle
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. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
This is a film brimming with essential truth about the events at hand, and it delivers an impactful but also entertainingly resonant message. It’s also a crackling good, emotionally satisfying, old-fashioned thriller, with readily identifiable heroes and hiss-worthy villains. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Despite the recognizably daunting challenges in telling this long-arc story in an entirely coherent way, The Banker spins a surprising and engaging yarn pinned to central elements that made it hard to tell. Its lively, positive spirit helps it over any number of speed bumps, the social backdrops play to its advantage and the top-line cast members pull their weight and then some. - 70
IGN
An accessible, efficiently made but not necessarily invigorating look at finance, reality, and racial injustice in the U.S. - 63
Washington Post
A handsome-looking if occasionally dull affair. - 59
TheWrap
Mackie does a decent job of articulating his anger, and the filmmakers clearly care about the issues, but The Banker doesn’t take the narrative risks necessary to tell its story powerfully. Competence is all we get instead, and competence isn’t quite enough. - 58
The A.V. Club
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. - 50
Variety
You may wish that you were reading about these events in The New Yorker, because the movie is so choked with neutral detail that it’s a little bloodless. It lacks fire.
