DVD: The Bank Job

Hurrah, for the first time this year we get a British movie that just reeks of class. It’s not just that it has a wickedly good cast, or uses London to its best advantage as a location, more than anything else this film works because of a top-notch script from none other than the legendary Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.

Based (very loosely) on a bank heist that really did happen back in 1971, this is the story of a bunch of likely lads who saw a window of opportunity, took it and then lived to reap the whirlwind. When saucy pictures of a certain Royal end up in a safety deposit box in the vault of Lloyd’s Bank in Baker Street, England’s secret services are very keen to get them back. But how can they do that without acknowledging they exist in the first place? Simple – through a bit of coersion, get a group of petty criminals to pull off the bank job of the decade and ‘steal’ them.

The bait is model Martine (Saffron Burrows), who is told she’ll be let off a drugs charge if she can persuade her old school chum Terry (Jason Statham) and his band of bodgers to do the job. They agree and think they are free and clear when they pull the robbery off without a glitch. But unbeknownst to them, there is more than one batch of dodgy pictures in that vault and there are some very dangerous people out there who want their property back, including King of Smut Lew Vogel (Ian Suchet). So, they may have made off with lots of cash and jewellery, but if they’re not careful the whole team will never live long enough to spend it.

The dialogue in this film is so spot-on it drives the whole momentum of the movie effortlessly forward. Director, Roger Donaldson, expertly choreographs his large ensemble cast (including Stephen Campbell Moore, Keeley Hawes, Peter Bowles and Colin Salmon) and keeps them all real and believable, even though some pop in and out of the action frequently. There’s a great sense of 70s London and some nice pops at the English establishment and overall this is an action thriller with heart and intelligence. Dee Pilgrim

Buy yourself a copy here.