Roger Donaldson, the director was in attendance and participated in a Q+A after the film.
FILM BLURB
A tightly wound heist film, The Bank Job is based on an infamous 1971 London robbery, in which a gang of East End crooks got away with approximately £500,000. Roger Donaldson’s film unpacks all that went into the job and all that came after, including the shady criminals, the corrupt politicians, the government cover-up, the violent revenge and, of course, the royal scandal. Jason Stratham plays the mechanic and small-time criminal who masterminded the heist, ultimately finding himself in far over his head. The film opens in the Bay Area on March 7.
MY TAKE
Michael X, a black radical, has pictures of Princess Margaret in a compromising situation and is using them to thwart his arrest by the Government. MI5 (or MI6, who can tell) knows they are in a safe deposit box in a London bank. A babe returning from Morocco is found with drugs in her possession. An agent promises her immunity is she will round up a band of guys to break into the bank, give the pictures to MI5 and keep whatever else they take. They do this, but of course, there are complications. A Porn Lord who has the goods on crooked cops, a high class madam and members of Parliament become involved, so the hapless crooks are sought by dangerous dudes on both sides of the law and the government.
I wanted Michael X and the Porn Lord, despicable chaps, taken down, but could have accepted an ending where either MI5 or the small time criminal with balls of steel, prevailed.
Very cool film — taught, tense, and with more plot turns than Lombard Street. Incredibly, based on a true story.
A film that reminded me of Sir Ben Kingsley‘s Sexy Beast, as well as Layer Cake. Check it out.
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