Have you ever thought of what it takes to become a bank? Dave Fishwick did. And he went ahead with the attempt, anyway. Seriously, would you want to be a bank? Even the most magnanimous, generous, non-usury lender in the world is still a bank. To me, the question reads like: “Do want to be a street or a building?” I’m not sure who aspires to such or why.
Dave (Rory Kinnear) was just a local small-towner with a lot of money. He liked to hang out at his bar with everybody he loaned money to [read: everybody in the town] and sing karaoke. Then, more-or-less, Dave figured out it would easier to do his kind of philanthropy were he a bank.
Sure, how hard could it be?
First question is: How many banks are there in England? The answer is: Like, two. And the second question is: When was the last time there was a new bank in England? The answer is: Before the Anglican Church existed. Ok. Ok. So … both of those answers are incorrect … but not far off. Or should I say not nearly as far off as one would think or hope. Speaking from any POV (practical, historical, religious, spontaneous, humorous, etc.), the UK is not a great place to start a bank.
Strangely, and appropriately IMHO, the film is only about Dave for ten minutes or so. A new question emerges with the plot: Do you really want to root for a multi- multi- multi- millionaire? I’m sure some of us would, but it’s hard to get behind the personal crisis of a man worth more money than you and your entire family, friends, neighbors, and ancestors will ever earn in several lifetimes.
Hence, Bank of Dave had us follow the plight of the solicitor. Hugh (Joel Fry) shows up at the small town of Burnley to negotiate -and hopefully talk Dave out of- the whole bank thing. Hugh is a normal guy. And Hugh is a 
normal guy who might be falling in love. And Hugh is a normal guy who might be falling in love who is willing to go to the mat for Dave, which will connect with an audience. And with Hugh as the face of Bank of Dave, we have a common man with common problems going against the financial powers of the UK. Now, we have something.
Bank of Dave is an amiable film with an unintentionally dark soul. On the surface, it means to be a cute tale about a scrappy multi-millionaire who humbly took on the English financial system. In practice, it is a cute tale about a scrappy multi-millionaire who humbly took on the English financial system (as told through an everyman lawyer). But when you think about it, are we not rooting for a millionaire many, many times over deliberately and misleadingly portrayed as unassuming and humble? There are many, many zillionaires in the world. Some worth rooting for. Most are not. Zero deserve to have movies made about them. You already won capitalism; you don’t need more than you have already.
I find it truly amazing that a film can have the gall to call a zillionaire “mistreated”, “abused:, and “underdog,” but that’s exactly what we have here. Is Dave an underdog? Well, sure, if you compare him to the King of England. But compared to everybody else? Not so much.
There was once a rich man named Dave
And his peers loved the way he’d behave
For he financed their visions
Without indecisions
Making him every Burnleyman’s fav
Rated PG-13, 107 Minutes
Director: Chris Foggin
Writer: Piers Ashworth
Genre: Real life fables
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Needy billionaires
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: English bureaucrats
