Maybe this is what goes over Down Under (sorry, couldn't resist), but I found this film to be lacking much sophistication. And it certainly withers next to the last Australian import I saw, the nuanced and terrific "Lantana". "The Bank" is about on par with what you might see on American cable, maybe slightly better acted. It's meant to be a tense thriller about corporate greed vs. the good of society, but the script tackled these themes in such a heavy handed simplistic way I couldn't get interested. No accident, I'm sure, that the "good" guy representing the common man was Aussie, and the "bad" guy who personified unethical corporate excess was an American (played by an Australian, the usually good and occasionally very good Anthony LaPaglia).
Sometimes when a film has a dull script, it can be rescued by inspired direction, acting or dialogue. Unfortunately "The Bank" doesn't have any of these, so it ends up being a mediocre movie. It wasn't awful, there are a couple of good lines and a decent twist, but not enough for me to recommend it. If you're hankering for a movie about a math genius, rent Darren Aranofsky's "Pi" instead. It's much better.
Sometimes when a film has a dull script, it can be rescued by inspired direction, acting or dialogue. Unfortunately "The Bank" doesn't have any of these, so it ends up being a mediocre movie. It wasn't awful, there are a couple of good lines and a decent twist, but not enough for me to recommend it. If you're hankering for a movie about a math genius, rent Darren Aranofsky's "Pi" instead. It's much better.