Opinion Onion: The Bank Job

Brain Robbing

To say that life is among the greatest storytellers, probably would be an understatement, especially when you consider that Roger Donaldson's latest motion picture delivery to date, The Bank Job, is based on true events that took place in London, 1971.

The frame of the buildup is rather intriguing: the British Government finds itself in an untenable situation, being incapable to arrest a certain individual without exposing the United Kingdom to grave developments that could lead to a revolt. As you may have guessed, this particular person maintains very effective blackmail potential over the British Royalty, and, as such: over its Government, as well.

Information suggests that the blackmailer, Mr. X probably keeps the blackmail photos in a safe deposit box of Lloyd's Bank, Baker Street, but the Royalty would never make a move for them, as they don't even possess knowledge of those outrageous photos, even worse: these highest circles probably would collapse on themselves if they had. The Intelligence Agency comes up with a plan. What they want to do is to set up a bank robbery themselves, so the hired/involved villains could take all the loot they want in exchange for the "Royal Portfolio", taken from the safe deposit box of Mr. X.

If this sounds implausible already, then those past real life events are eager to amaze the viewer further on: the robbery is indeed instigated by the Government, but a radio amateur accidentally intercepts the transmissions taking place between the robbers. He informs the Police of his continuous findings, and, no further emphasis is needed: a quite convoluted-, nevertheless absolutely logical narrative carnage of intersecting, overlapping agendas begins.

The fabric of the movie is that of a matrix of organic relations between interests, in which each one of these parties must figure out what-, and how to react, and, most importantly: towards who to react. Roger Donaldson creates and offers quality screentime in this dualistic narrative effort. A massive, initial portion is dedicated to the presentation of the arrangements taking place before the heist, yet the robbers will have but a harshly limited time to resonate joy beside their suspected loot, and this is the point from which on Donaldson switches gears and pushes the pedal to the metal.

Thankfully, the film does not want to be an action flick, the real fun, and, for some degree: the real challenge here is to remain in the game without losing trace of the happenings, though worry is not necessarily to be invoked if at first you fail to set one particular aspect of the rather complex buildup in place. The work of Dick Clement and Ian La Fernais - the interpreters of these real life events - definitely deserves multiple sit-throughs.

Fortunately enough, Bank Job presents you all its considerable intrinsic values through a top notch cast, focally characterized by the key role of Jason Statham, probably one of the ten most charismatic masculine phenoms you could see on the contemporary big screen. While beautiful Saffron Burrows, the giver of the tip renders an absolutely solid performance as a female sidekick, Peter Bowles delivers a very memorable, albeit, sorrowfully not too prolonged interpretation of the head of the Intelligence Agency. No sober man would want to cross this man's path without a fake nuclear bomb in the pocket. Let it be too.

Donaldson's effort surprises consensus as a brave enough installment to dismiss usual action-novelties and stale dialog patterns you heard a million times before, choosing instead to entertain the viewer with its flamboyant, cleverly convoluted storyline. Even better: you can't even place the term "fictional" into the latter sentence, or, at least, that wouldn't cover recorded events. As for these recorded events: all should be clear in 2054, as this is the date by which the British Government will grant public access to the documents concerning this case from 1971. You either choose to wait around for that date, or, you could always follow the witty suggestion the actual bank robbers formed as a message sprayed on the wall on Baker Street:

"Let Sherlock Holmes solve this!"

Solid engagement for the eyes, definite delicacy for the mind: The Bank Job invites you to hop on that van, as there is always a free place to take.