REVIEW: MACKIE LEADS A LITTLE-KNOWN STORY IN ‘THE BANKER'

“The Banker ” is an odd title for this film. It has the effect of underselling a fascinating story about a black business savant that was inspired by real events. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) became a real estate mogul in Los Angeles and (eventually) the owner of a bank in his Texas hometown at a time when all the cards were stacked against him.

At the very least, “The Banker” doesn’t seem like the best way to describe Bernard, his accomplishments or even reflect what it’s is about: the de facto and legal ways that African American were excluded from fairly participating in real estate and business.

That’s all to say, don’t let it dissuade you from giving this solid film a chance when it hits AppleTV Plus on Friday. Directed by George Nolfi(“The Adjustment Bureau”), “The Banker” is a fairly traditional biopic with a civil rights bent and some caper elements. With lush period costuming and a terrific cast, including Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson as his business partner Joe Morris, Nia Long as Bernard’s wife Eunice and Nicholas Hoult, it might just be the perfect easy watch for anyone looking for fresh streaming content.

We’re introduced to Bernard as a precocious youngster living in 1930s Texas. He’s ambitious and self-taught and eavesdrops on the men whose shoes he’s shining to learn some business acumen. His father commends his intellect but advises him to dream smaller.