The Brooklyn Banker

Name: The Brooklyn Banker
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
Released: August 5, 2016
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 32

2016

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Generally unfavorable reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Ratings

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The Brooklyn Banker

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Movie Details & Credits

| Release Date: August 5, 2016 | R

Summary: A former bookie turned banker with a special gift for memorizing numbers, is unwittingly cast into the forefront of an aging wise-guy's bid for power.

Director: Federico Castelluccio

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

Kyle Smith

Aug 4, 2016

Borrowing a few tricks from Martin Scorsese, the film isn’t a slavish imitation but an engrossing and grounded drama. It’s a pity, then, that director Federico Castelluccio, best known as Furio of “The Sopranos,” can’t deliver a powerful conclusion. Read full review

The Playlist Ally Johnson

Aug 4, 2016

With a weak script and underwhelming performances, there’s nothing about the film to latch onto or celebrate, but there’s just enough craftsmanship on display to walk away not feeling like it’s a complete failure. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Aug 11, 2016

The film — penned by Michael Ricigliano Jr., a lawyer making his screenwriting debut — never really achieves the necessary dramatic tension despite a surprising climactic plot twist. The dialogue rarely rises above the level of cliché. Read full review

Craig D. Lindsey

Aug 4, 2016

Unfortunately, this low-budget production comes up short in many places: limited performances, barely developed characters, a muddled script. The movie also has a sluggish, lumbering pace, effectively offsetting the paranoid, anxious vibe of Garity's performance. Read full review

Daniel M. Gold

Aug 4, 2016

Acting chops are occasionally on view — Mr. Sorvino and Mr. Proval play well together — but the plot is weak, the subplots tacked on. Read full review

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jaylee123

Aug 5, 2016

I wrote this review because I disagreed with some of the negative reviews I saw online:

Set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the 1970s, “The Brooklyn Banker” is about Santo Bastucci (Troy Garrity), a young banker with a rare gift, an eidetic memory, whose comfortable life is interrupted whenI wrote this review because I disagreed with some of the negative reviews I saw online:

Set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the 1970s, “The Brooklyn Banker” is about Santo Bastucci (Troy Garrity), a young banker with a rare gift, an eidetic memory, whose comfortable life is interrupted when the local mob kingpin “Manny the Hand” ( David Proval) decides he wants Santo to work for him. David Proval is masterful as Manny the Hand, and Troy Garity is brilliant in his portrayal of an average guy, content with his life, caught in the middle of a living nightmare.

One of the most powerful and compelling scenes in the entire movie takes place on a rooftop. The dialogue between Santo and Manny is bone chilling. Manny plays his cards, deliberately trying to manipulate Santo into working for him by telling Santo the true story of his relationship with Santos’ father, betting that the truth will destroy Santos’ relationship with his uncle, the local Priest, and convincing Santo that his destiny is with Manny’s world. It is the scene that deftly defines the themes of the movie, and becomes the turning point in all their lives.

To some, this movie might seem like just another mob flick, but it isn’t. It is a story with much richer themes, about self discovery, about choices we must make when faced with adversity, about loyalty, fighting for that in which we believe, and knowing who to lean on in times of trouble. The beauty of this story is in the dialogue, richly woven with clues about the motivations of the protagonists, deliberately planned by the writer, Michael Ricigliano. In this sense, the movie is counter Godfather; the protagonist, Santo, chooses to fight for the values in which he believes and distance himself from Manny's world, and many of the powerful blows are delivered with words, not violence, although there is plenty of the latter in the movie as well. It is a story to which everyone can relate, since, at some point in our lives, we are all faced with difficult choices.

Whether or not you are a fan of mob movies, or you are a fan of movies where the dialogue is as, if more important than the action, then “The Brooklyn Banker” won’t disappoint.… Expand

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Brooklynman

Aug 6, 2016

Excellent! Authentic film set in the 70's. New way of looking at the mob. Portrays the lead as a sympathetic everyday man who gets caught in a scam, opposed to a glorification of the glitzy mob life. Best genre film i've seen in years.

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