Movie info via Rotten Tomatoes:
Based on the true-life experiences of Dave Fishwick; ‘Bank of Dave’ tells the story of how a working class Burnley man and self-made millionaire fought to set up a community bank. Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear) sells vans in Burnley, Lancashire. Once the world’s most productive and profitable mill town, Burnley is now one of the most deprived and neglected towns in the UK. Dave, however, through a combination of hustle and hard work, has done well for himself — so well that in the wake of the last financial crisis he started lending money at reduced rates to his customers and local businesses. When some of those businesses start making money they ask Dave to reinvest it for them. This gives Dave an idea. Why not set up a tiny local bank that uses local money to fund local enterprise? He will call it: The Bank of Dave. The elite, London based financial authorities however, haven’t granted a new bank license for over 150 years and they’re not keen to grant one to a van salesmen from Burnley. Dave must enlist the help of London lawyer, Hugh (Joel Fry), junior doctor Alexandra (Phoebe Dynevor) and some local rock legends (Def Leppard) to help fight the good cause.
Review:
Bank of Dave is a feel good based on true events story about a decent Burnley Brit, Dave Fishwick (Rory Kinnear), who wishes to help his middle class community by establishing a bank dedicated to local loans. Greedy bankers and a good hearted upstart make for a film with an abundance of Capra-esque heart. Bank of Dave only means to charm, and charm it does. Good people in a good community trying to do good things for each others benefit and prosperity makes for a good bit of entertainment.
Dave is the owner of a minibus dealership, who sensing a need in this close-knit small town, starts offering loans to locals in trouble. Everyone faithfully pays him back, so he wants to start a bank to help everyone with the profits going to charity. The big banks and the government eager to maintain their monopoly try to thwart Dave. Hugh (Joel Fry), a lawyer looking for a cause and suffering an existential crisis from working for a big money law firm eventually joins in the cause.
Hugh gives the fish-out-of-water element this kind of gentle comedy needs to be successful. Once the townsfolk accept him, the romcom elements kick in and performances lift Bank of Dave to its predestined happy ending. Hugh character arc-outsider becomes insider becomes local- is well oiled and completed with minimum fuss. Chris Foggin, the director layers on the heart and feels with gusto. The put on show end featuring Def Leppard is a delight as it’s comfortably familiar.
Bank of Dave gets a 3.5/5 or a B+. It’s streaming on Netflix.
Credits:
Directed by
Written by
Piers Ashworth
Produced by
- Matt Williams
- Karl Hall
- Piers Tempest
Starring
Cinematography
Mike Stern Sterzynski
Edited by
Martina Zamolo
Music by
Production
companies
- Tempo Productions Limited
- Future Artists Entertainment
- Rojovid Films
Distributed by
William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment
Release date
- 16 January 2023
Running time
107 minutes
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
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