ShareThisAny movie that plays T. Rex's "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" over the opening credits gives the expectation of a certain level of sexy brazenness. "The Bank Job" might have been served more accurately by Ringo Starr's "It Don't Come Easy."This heist film pointedly ignores the tradition of slick Hollywood bank-robbery flicks, and it doesn't fit the mold of recent British crime movies. It's not glib, hip and ultraviolent, a la Guy Ritchie. It's clever and cynical but also earnest in a nuts-and-bolts sense, and when pain is inflicted, the audience feels it.Loosely based on an infamous 1971 crime in London, the film uses speculation, rumors and facts to spin its tantalizing yarn, some of which stems from a purported Caribbean sex romp.Terry (Jason Statham), a London car dealer with some shady business practices, owes a loan shark a wad of cash. So he's willing to listen to Martine (Saffron Burrows), an old friend from the 'hood who made good as a model and claims to have a big score for him.Martine says she has found out from a beau who installs security systems that the Lloyd's Bank branch on Baker Street will be without an alarm system for a few days. Conveniently, there's a shop for rent a couple of doors down, and a team of thieves could dig its way from the shop's basement to the bank's safe-deposit vault and steal a fortune in cash and jewels.Terry hesitates; he's never done anything on this level. But ultimately he signs on with best friend Kevin (Stephen Campbell Moore), a part-time photographer who once had a fling with Martine, and pal Dave (Daniel Mays), a lower-tier actor, and brings three others onboard.To his credit, Terry doesn't totally trust Martine. Indeed, she's trying to avoid drug-smuggling charges, and her lover, Tim (Richard Lintern), who works for either MI5 or MI6 (the movie makes a joke out of the fact that no one knows the difference), concocted the plan to get compromising photos of a royal away from Caribbean-born Michael X (Peter de Jersey), a Black Power leader who's one of London's worst gangsters.Martine doesn't tell Terry about the photos, and what no one realizes is that several other naughty secrets are hidden in the boxes, and their owners will do anything to keep them from being exposed.There's a lot going on in "The Bank Job," but director Roger Donaldson, working from a script by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, makes it easy to follow. If the movie is more solid than scintillating, it's nice for a change to have drama and emotional depth in a caper film. The writers revel in cynicism about Britain's upper crust while painting a realistic picture of life in the lower classes.Charismatic Statham proves that he can handle much more than action as Terry deals with the pressures of living up to the mark as a family man and crew leader. Gorgeous Burrows (TV's "Boston Legal") plays the tough gal with a weak spot well.While several supporting players are excellent, David Suchet (beloved as TV's "Poirot") stands out as ruthless porn mogul Lew Vogel.The film can seem detail-heavy, but that helps it avoid irritating leaps. "The Bank Job" goes for slow burn rather than high octane.R for sexual content, nudity, violence and languageFour stars (out of five)(Contact Betsy Pickle of The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at www.knoxnews.com.)
A caper film with drama and emotional depth
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