The Brooklyn Banker

Set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the 1970's "The Brooklyn Banker" is about Santo Bastucci (Troy Garrity), a young banker with a rare gift, an eidetic memory, whose life is interrupted when local mob kingpin "Manny the Hand" ( David Proval) decides he wants Santo to work for him.

David Proval is masterful as Manny the Hand, and Troy Garity is brilliant in his portrayal of an average guy, content with his life, caught in the middle of a living nightmare.

One of the most powerful and compelling scenes in the entire movie takes place on a rooftop. The dialogue between Santo and Manny is bone chilling. Manny plays his cards, deliberately trying to manipulate Santo into working for him by telling Santo the true story of his relationship with Santos' father, betting that the truth will destroy Santos' relationship with his uncle, the local Priest, and convincing Santo that his destiny is with Manny's world. It is the scene that deftly defines the themes of the movie, and becomes the turning point in all their lives.

To some, this movie might seem like just another mob flick, but it isn't. It is a story with much richer themes, about self discovery, about choices we must make when faced with adversity, about loyalty, fighting for that in which we believe, and knowing who to lean on in times of trouble. The beauty of this story is in the dialogue, richly woven with clues about the motivations of the protagonists, deliberately planned by the writer, Michael Ricigliano. In this sense, the movie is counter Godfather; the protagonist, Santo, chooses to fight for the values in which he believes and distance himself from Manny's world, and many of the powerful blows are delivered with words, not violence, although there is plenty of the latter in the movie as well. It is a story to which everyone can relate, since, at some point in our lives, we are all faced with difficult choices.

Whether or not you are a fan of mob movies, or you are a fan of movies where the dialogue is as, if not more important than the action, then "The Brooklyn Banker" won't disappoint.

I had the pleasure going to the movie premier in NY. I was amazed on how well written the story line was done. Many talented actors & actress in the movie. I enjoy the movie very much and it had real life event in it like seeing the feast. Also shows how the family sticks together but if you cross the wrong person...watch out. All the best to all to everyone who had a part in making this movie, Michael, Frederico, are amazing men with a bright future ahead of them. For everyone else congrats on making a movie that will be in all movie theaters soon across the country all in time. I would recommend anyone to see it.

Federico Castelluccio has a bright future as a director. I really did like this movie and it's story line, it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. But.....I thought the casting doomed this movie. Troy Garity is Bridget Fonda's son and from Beverly Hills, hardly a Brooklyn Banker. He was only average in the short lived series Boss, but as an Italian with deep Brooklyn heritage is no way remotely believable. He needs to learn how to become that person he's playing, he seems to much like a robot with little personality. He didn't even try to have a New Yorker accent, there seemed to be little preparation for his lead part. Paul Sorvino was way too old for this part. And the Secret Service agent was an important role, it could have given this film so much more intrigue and mystery, but again it was cast poorly, John Bedford Lloyd has been around a long time, yet it seems he didn't prepare for his part. The ankle holster was a bit different. 99.9% of law enforcement wears their sidearm on the belt, less than 1% might wear a backup holster on their ankle. However the ankle weapon did give me a surprise when in his other scenes we didn't see his belt holster, and then it wasn't until about his fourth scene we see it on his ankle. The rest of the cast was classic New York mobster types, but they've had lots of experience because they've all been in dozens of mafia movies.

I should note that I only know about the mafia from movies, so I can't verify or refute the depiction of the gangsters in "The Brooklyn Banker". Anyway, it had an interesting plot and an interesting set of characters. Still, I wish that it had done more to emphasize the era in which it was set by showing news clips from the era (Watergate, Vietnam, etc).

The movie's OK but no masterpiece. Mafia movies are OK to see every once in a while; otherwise they get repetitive. I'd say that the movie's worth seeing once.

Who ever would've imagined the son (Troy Garity) of people (Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden) trying to bring down Richard Nixon co-starring with someone (Paul Sorvino) who played a member of Nixon's cabinet (Henry Kissinger)?

The Brooklyn Banker exceeded our expectations, especially with the excellent stand out acting by Garity and Proval.

The director obviously has a good eye for detail as the camera work, lighting, and locations chosen, transported one into a somewhat gritty looking Brooklyn in the 1970's. Hats off, too, to the costume and set directors for being such perfectionists in keeping every detail true to that decade. The realistic casting of the extras and use of locations was also quite effective in bringing that era alive.

The movie was well paced and built up by the good acting and story line which rang true. Refreshingly, it did not overreach.

Quite good genre/indie film with a Scorsese type ending.