You can’t wait to see this one, am I right? The title alone suggests such wonderful phrases: “capital investments” … “APR”… “compound interest”… heck, what am I telling you for? We all know the breakneck lives bankers lead. So let me introduce you to the count of accounting, the general of general funding, and the man of mandatory convertible securities, Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie).
This part is important. This is actually important. If I came off as glib in the first paragraph, blame it on the title. “The Banker” is not making the milkshake wet in my yard, or however that ménage-a-metaphor goes. But this is important: Even if social equality were enforced and practiced across the board in the United States, black people would still have it far worse because of the inequality of access to capital.
Look, I cannot make that statement any more exciting. I know that once the word “capital” arises, my audience leaves and I don’t blame them. But access to wealth is how wealth grows. And if an entire race of people can’t get decent housing loans or business loans, they are stuck forever in the back of the economic bus. And it cannot be lost on anybody that –all else being equal- crime will be greater, education will be shallower, and life expectancy will be shorter in poorer neighborhoods. These will be trends no matter who lives where.
This is the crux of American imbalance. Every piece of legislation –from voting rights to taxes—had better address inequality of access to capital, because if it doesn’t, you’re only legislating for the fraction that doesn’t need it. And with that, I can start talking about The Banker.
The 1950s were a fun time, huh? I know this is generally the era MAGA dreams of … and why wouldn’t it? Black people didn’t own jack, and even in California, African-Americans weren’t allowed to own jack. Bernard Garrett has a mind for real estate, but can’t make any real divots without a white face as a front man. He partners with Barker (Colm Meaney) for a while, but when Barker dies, guess what name is on all the deeds? So Bernard has to go outside his comfort zone … Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson) is a flamboyant club owner. Joe has the cash, but the company still needs a white face to make deals, so Joe and Bernard enlist Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), an open-minded know-nothing, to represent their investments.
The first act of the film is an awesome Pygmalion homage where two black men teach a young white guy how to play golf and talk finance … and the best part is there is no humor here. This is a matter-of-fact transaction, no tongue-in-cheek of “isn’t this silly?” nor allusions to My Fair Lady. The tale being told here is biographical and sinister at the same time. And by sinister I mean that two men sharp enough to rule Southern California real estate were essentially barred from the table. Oh, they could own it, all right, so long as they never represented themselves in person. Ain’t that some shit?
Now, take that scenario to Texas of 1963, where black people were not even allowed to enter banks unless they were servants of white men … you 
can see where this picture is going, yes?
A special note here to Anthony Mackie: Hi. I know you want to be an action hero. Who wouldn’t? Given the choice between playing Noam Chomsky or Batman, yeah, of course I’m choosing Batman … even if I feel more politically inclined with Chomsky, it’s a no brainer. That said, Mr. Mackie, seriously, this is your role. As an Avenger, you’re an afterthought. That might change with the death of Chadwick Boseman, but I doubt it and so do you. Here is a role where you get the spotlight, the kudos, and on top of that, it’s important. Superhero roles are junk, metaphorically. In The Banker, you get to educate. Do we believe a black man can be a superhero? Of course we do; check out LeBron James. Do we believe a black man can make us money? Ahhhhh. Now there’s something worth telling the public. And the fact that this role is historical and speaks to inequities we still see today? Even better. This is the first time in a while that I’ve taken you seriously as an actor. I hope to find this feeling again.
This film essentially combines the general topics of racism and banking; both of these tend to leave me empty inside. And yet The Banker works far more than it doesn’t. I certainly wanted to see Bernard do well for himself and his family; it is always a tragedy when a great brain goes to waste. I don’t think this film is perfect; I think it gets bogged down in Act III with the augmentation of Matt Steiner’s role in the game … other than that, however, I think The Banker is about as good as it could have been given the subject material.
There once was a banker named Garrett
Who wanted to see if his market would bear it
But skills were denied
In a South full of pride
Where skin color is the sole measure of merit
Rated PG-13, 120 Minutes
Director: George Nolfi
Writer: Niceole R. Levy & George Nolfi & David Lewis Smith & Stan Younger
Genre: The subtle-yet-devastating extensions of racism
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: SJWs
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Racists, especially Texan racists
