CRITICAL REVIEW
The Bank is an Australian thriller, written and directed by Robert Connolly. It's cast includes David Wenham (the Boys, Better then Sex), Anthony Lapaglia (Best Actor AFI 2001 - Lantana) and Sibylla Budd (The Secret Life of us). In 2001, The Bank won an AFI award for Best Original Screenplay as well as being nominated in seven other categories. The Bank's style and structure are fairly solid and the result is a neat and educational piece of Australian Cinema. The Bank comes with a deep plot and captivating subplot. The main plot covers Jim Doyle's involvement with the greedy bank, with Simon O'Rielly as it's villainous representative. The sub-plot involves the Davis family and the legal action they take against the plot. These plots are neatly interwoven, effectively creating the 'thrilling' climax of the film. The characters in The Bank are interesting, although then can lack depth. This could be due to the amount of information the film tries to deliver to the audience. For example Michelle is suppose to be Jim's romantic interest but she also takes on another role as the films 'conscious'. Her character is used to make obvious to the audience what the banks flaws are as well as unlocking the mystery that is Jim Doyle. In other words the complexity of the plot doesn't allow for the depth of the character to be explored more intimately. In Turn the film may lose some emotional appeal to be made on the audience. What the film lacks in character depth is easily made up for by the performance of the lead actors. The character are richly enlivened by the actors whom give them (the character) their distinctive and powerful personalities. Bad acting was not a flaw made in The Bank. The Bank's stylistic approach is simple, elegant and neat. The atmosphere of the film was designed to create a unanimous, cold and clinical approach to the world of banks. Connely uses the Melbourne cityscape, for it's indistinctiveness, a city that could be found almost anywhere in the world. The character where simple, plain clothing, devoid of personality and character. The lighting is as 'dark' as the banks cumulative 'personality'. The only 'warmth' in the style is purposely represented by the Davis' as they represent the 'only' humanity in the film. The soundtrack, composed by Alan John (nominated for Best Original Score AFI award), effectively follows the moods and action within the film with it's simple instrumental tracks. Overall, The Bank is a solid Australian film. It's stylistic system makes The Bank look as though it was made on a ideal high budget, an impressive feat. The plot can be demanding at times but also maintains the ability to keep the audience interested. The Bank also has a witty, intelligent script and casts talented actors giving captivating performances. As an Australian film, it is a 'great' for Australian Cinema. In the world of film however, it is an interesting film but lacks the energy and excitement that constitutes a truly great thriller of a film. All in all, The Bank is a great directorial debut by Robert Connolly, that is well worth watching.