Bank of Dave

BANK OF DAVE is a classic British feel-good "underdog" movie, designed to offend no one, and please everyone. And, let's be fair, no one does underdog like the Brits! Rory Kinnear is especially appealing as Dave, the local businessman who woke up one morning with the quaint notion that the only way to beat the nasty-nasty banks at their own game was to actually become a bank. Against all odds, he pulled it off. The courtroom scenes are especially well done. Recommended. Not only do we need more banks that care about customers, we need more movies that care about viewers. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Everything you'd expect from a UK based film, pulled heartstrings, decent soundtrack, good character acting and a nice story, well told.

Joel Fry is excellent and stakes a claim for the next slightly nervy, slightly cute, slightly awkward leading man that all UK based comedies/love stories need. Rory Kinnear rapidly becoming a mainstay too, justifiably so despite the questionable accent that tended to wander around the Northern Shires throughout the film but this didn't take anything away from the decency of his character.

Lots of top names appear throughout the film, that'll have you pausing it and trying to remember what you last saw them in.

I enjoyed the film a lot, and it's message is worth remembering; that good people DO exist, but you don't always notice them.

Bank of Dave is a heavily fictionalised feelgood comedy drama about Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear.) A truck and minibus dealer in Burnley. After the financial crash of 2008 when banks got bailed out but stopped lending to those in need.

Fishwick wanted to start a not for profit bank that would give loans to the local community.

In his way is the elitist banking establishment determined that northerner like Fishwick will not get his bank off the ground. So he gets the help of a corporate lawyer Hugh (Joel Fry) from London to make the application for a banking licence.

Bank of Dave rightly takes a stick to the banking fat cats who took fraudulent risks, went bust, saved by a Labour government and the taxpayer. All so they could carry on regardless.

The movie is too formulaic. Northerners are the salt of the earth, Londoners are hissable villains. There is a romantic subplot involving Hugh and a NHS doctor.

There is a good performance from Rory Kinnear. Despite his father hailing from Wigan, his accent seemed to be more generic northern than Lancashire.

Director Chris Foggin knows which buttons to push to give it a warm glow. The songs help as well as an appearance from Def Leppard.

Bank Of Dave is a feel good film which tick lots of nice boxes as long as you don't look at it with a critical eye. Which I do. A bit. Right then. The cons first. Whilst the main actors play their parts well, some of the support acting is a bit flaky. Fair enough - this is a relatively low budget film so understandable. Secondly, the script is a bit clunky in places, which doesn't help the actors and does make the film feel somewhat contrived at times - you know exactly how this is going to play out. This is okay though - not everyone wants a challenging stressy film, or a film full of unpleasant, gritty, dark characters. I know I don't. Thirdly, Burnley is portrayed as a lovely town of working class, heart of gold, decent, fair, hard working, honest, caring, sharing, people. It isn't. Lots are. But lots are not. Fourthly, a LOT of the content isn't remotely true or accurate, but you need to make the film interesting so fair enough with the carefree approach to facts. The pros. It's a feel good film for all the family and Dave seems like a very decent chap and that's enough justification to make a nice movie. Secondly, I forgot Def Leppard actually did some really good songs! Needed to hear more of them. Er... That's it.

I came across this one on Netflix, not having heard anything about it and was pleasantly surprised. It's the glorious, true story of the little man taking on the establishment. Self made Millionaire Dave Fishwick decides to start a bank in his home town of Burnley to help support local businesses,creating jobs and services for the community. In doing so he comes face to face with the banking establishment, who use all their dirty tricks to prevent him. In a way mirroring the sentiments of classics like It's a Wonderful Life, this film shows what can be achieved when people come together to take on the powers that be. An uplifting gem.