The Bank Job - 2008
Directed by Roger Donaldson
Written by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais
Starring Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows & Richard Lintern
Whenever I'm informed that I'm about to watch a film "based on a true story" I kind of go into a defensive "well then, I'm not going to believe one single thing I see" mode. It's not that I think I'm about to watch unadulterated lies - it's just that you never know at what point artistic license is about to kick in. Even the most faithful of films have to use it. Well,
The Bank Job is what I'd call medium level as far as all that is concerned. If you know the true story of the 1971 burglary of Lloyds Bank safety deposit boxes in Baker Street, you'll still be in for plenty of surprises as far as the film is concerned. It adopts all of the rumours concerning the involvement of MI5, compromising photos of Princess Margaret, and evidence of ministerial misconduct as fact, and adds a dose of crime kingpin/crooked police drama for good measure. The tunnel and the bit with the walkie-talkies being overheard are the incontrovertible facts - and the film faithfully recreates the look of the street-corner bank, Chicken Inn store and Le Sac premises from which the tunneling was done.
Apart from Jason Statham, kind of typecast as the kind of person who is a mechanic as well as pulling off heists, there weren't many recognizable faces in this. Saffron Burrows might best be known as the lead in
Deep Blue Sea - a film I'm not sure I've seen from start to finish. Richard Lintern could possibly be the most British-looking person alive (and he likewise appears in very British productions.) I knew I'd seen Stephen Campbell Moore somewhere before - and it's probably from
History Boys. Daniel Mays I've seen plenty of times (for example,
Rogue One : A Star Wars Story), but isn't a huge star. They really just depended on Statham as far as star power is concerned - and fair enough, that did the job. Did everyone who watched this spot Mick Jagger? Yeah, he's in this too - a cameo spot as one of the bank employees in charge of the vault. Very cheeky, and very hard to spot unless you're really on the ball. I was hoping John Lennon (Alan Swoffer) would get a line, but he's just a background historical figure (whoever plays Yoko doesn't even appear as uncredited anywhere.)
So, the various parts were straightforward, and the movie depended chiefly on it's screenplay - written in part by Dick Clement, an
old hand as far as British drama goes, and very expert in every way possible. The other writer was his long-time partner Ian La Frenais - they were both in their 70s when writing this, but everything they lay out is sharp and well organized. They were both still working up until 2017, updating
Porridge - a series they'd worked on in the 1970s. Perhaps it's good to have people who clearly remember the 1970s make a film which takes place in that decade. Director Roger Donaldson was likewise quite old for this kind of caper - Donaldson is an Australian filmmaker who made a few films in New Zealand before making
The Bounty in England and graduating to the U.S. with
Marie in 1985. He was the director of
Cocktail, which I feel obliged to apologize for (I actually saw that at the movies way back in '88.) He's well known for the likes of
Species (1995),
Dante's Peak (1997) and
Thirteen Days (2000) - the latter of which is his best film as far as I'm concerned. He directs
The Bank Job in very competent fashion, and makes great use of what he was given.
So, the only other comments I have to exemplify it's best features is that 1970s period it successfully captures with it's art direction and production design. It's not perfect, but few are - and this one at least gave me the feeling of being back in the '70s. Other than that, it's sympathetic portrayal of the burglars had me on their side and cheering for them - not that I gave them much hope, although I have to add that I didn't know what had really happened while watching the film. Apparently a couple of them were never identified, but most were caught and got prison sentences ranging from eight to twelve years in length. Don't take that as a spoiler - this movie gets very creative as far as what really happened after the theft is concerned. If you want to find out all of the absolute facts - well, that file is closed until the year 2071. I'll have to improve my health if I hope to find out. The movie is simply a very well organized heist thriller and period piece, with secret agent/MI5 business and political intrigue weaved into it's tapestry. I never knew there was a Michael X (Peter de Jersey) - but now I do.
Just a note about the whole Michael X part of the story - he was an interesting figure. A revolutionary and civil rights activist in 1960s London. We see the famous instance of him putting a slave collar on businessman Marvin Brown (or, more precisely, two of his followers did as Michael X allegedly threatened him and tried to extort money.) I have a feeling there's more to that story. The North London headquarters for his movement mysteriously burned down, and Michael X fled to his native Trinidad and Tobago in February 1971. He was often aided by John Lennon (he'd bail him out when Michael was arrested), but the commune he started overseas also burned down - and when the fire was investigated two dead bodies were found. Michael X was tried for murdering one of them, ultimately convicted and executed. In
The Bank Job we see him murder Gale Benson (Hattie Morahan) with a machete - she's revealed as a spy. The whole saga is another interesting historical chapter that
The Bank Job introduces to a wider audience that may never otherwise have heard of these people. In the film, it's MI5 who burn Michael X's commune down - and I'm pretty sure it's the authorities who gutted his headquarters in London.
I wasn't expecting much from
The Bank Job, but it turned out to be a better film than I expected to see - which, because Statham was leading a threadbare cast, I assumed would be more geared to action than intrigue and real historical events. Obviously there has been enormous liberties taken as far as speculation and artistic license is concerned, but the movie benefits by bringing MI5 and assorted other historical figures into the picture. We'd like to believe it's all true - and who knows, some of it might be, considering that there are undisclosed facts pertaining to what happened being locked away for so long. Probably not though. Anyway, heists are always fun, and Roger Donaldson gets a lot of value from what he was given to work with - mostly thanks to a no-nonsense screenplay. It knows just when to add the odd plague crypt or pair of dirty knickers into the narrative for fun - but not too much fun. A very nice addition to the heist genre, and an enjoyable trip back to '70s London. The only thing it lacks is a great cast and the need for really strong performances.