After years of dominance in the phone world and having success with its music platform, Apple is now seeking to make a name for itself in film. The Banker, Apple’s film debut, is based on the true story of black real estate developers Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris (played by Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson, respectively) and their plot to overcome racial barriers and build their portfolio by training and using blue collar white laborer Matt Steiner to serve as the face of their company. With a premise full of potential and historical significance, does The Banker give a good ROI or will it bankrupt you faster than betting on Lauryn Hill to make it to a show on time? You'll get something but don't expect too much.
With a cast led by Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson, The Banker’s strength obviously lies in the acting. Mackie delivers what is arguably the best performance of his career. Portraying someone with the level of intelligence and aptitude of Garrett can easily make an actor susceptible to being overly stoic, but Mackie adds the right amount of humanity to make Garrett less a numbers spitting android and more a man who is motivated to overcome the racial barriers to build a good life for his family and create opportunities for his people.
Jackson adds another strong supporting performance to a career built on what seems like an endless list of them. However, this performance feels slightly different from the roles we remember him for. Instead of the mf-dropping, over the top actor we’ve grown to love over the last four decades, Jackson brings a more nuanced approach to Morris characterized by a more laid-back presence that meshes perfectly with Mackie’s straight-laced Garrett to form a combo that is equal parts thought provoking and funny when it needs to be.
Outside of Mackie and Jackson, Nicholas Hoult and Nia Long do not disappoint in their respective supporting roles. Hoult’s chemistry with the Mackie-Jackson duo is a treat to watch, but he truly stands out in the scenes where his Steiner must protect the graft Garrett and Morris created. Long was impressive in her limited time on screen as Eunice Garrett, primarily when she delivers one of the films better scenes in a back and forth about respect with Steiner.
While the acting impresses, the off-camera activities trend in a different direction. Writer/director George Nolfi starts well by approaching the story as a heist or caper instead of a biopic, which paid off by not giving the film much time to drag. The major hitch for The Banker begins and ends with the decision to follow up that approach with a screenplay that is far too safe for a film with this subject matter and the acting talent in it. For a film about black pioneers in real estate, The Banker’s script lacked the depth and examples of racism necessary to truly illustrate why Garrett and Morris mean so much. If not for the occasional use of the n-word, it would be easy to assume the barriers that hindered them were because people were mean instead of racist. The premise offered a lot to say, but Nolfi and Co. seemed scared to say it.
The Banker will not be on anybody’s awards list. The bland script and superficial treatment of what we know was a great struggle at the time and remains one now snuffed out all the potential it had to be special. However, all is not lost thanks to Mackie and a more subtle Jackson forming one of the best acting duos you will see this year and strong support from Hoult and Long. Combine that with the timeliness of Garrett and Morris’s story and you have a solid film debut for Apple and a must see in my book.
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