A young man fascinated with the workings of the world of banking forms an alliance with an unscrupulous corporate predator in this drama. Jim Doyle (David Wenham) developed an interest in finance while he was a young boy growing up in a small Australian town, and as an adult he and his partners have developed BTSE (Bank Training Simulation Experiment), a sophisticated computer program that can anticipate the ups and downs of the world's money markets. Jim's program attracts the interest of Simon
O'Riley (Anthony LaPaglia), the head of a major Aussie financial services corporation, Centabank; O'Riley is looking to cut costs and increase profits, and he's convinced BTSE can help him do just that. However, O'Riley has other, more aggressive ways of boosting his bottom line; Centabank has been shutting down small-town branch offices that have been faithfully serving customers for decades, and has developed a new enthusiasm for foreclosing on loans from smaller customers having trouble making ends meet. Two such customers are Wayne and Diane Davis (Steve Rodgers and Mandy McElhinney), who obtained a loan to start their own business building houseboats; when the local economy went into a nosedive, the Davises found themselves under the thumb of Centabank, and the bank's hounding of the couple led to an unfortunate accident that took the life of their young son. Determined to make Centabank pay for their son's death, Wayne takes on the corporation with the help of Stephen (Mitchell Buell), an activist lawyer. Jim, meanwhile, becomes romantically involved with Michelle (Sibylla Budd), a Centabank employee, and through her gets a clearer idea of just what O'Riley is trying to do. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Despite a crafty premise and a clever kink in the tale that almost saves it, Connolly isn't dexterous enough to achieve the Hitchockian level of suspense the movie needs.
Junk science, plot holes and an ending you can see coming from a long way away spoil the potential and leave the film sitting firmly in 'weekly rental' territory.
The film is not without its flaws, but it sports a terrific production design that integrates magically into the story -- as well as another top-notch performance by Anthony LaPaglia.
Good story, well acted, clever plot. It keeps the viewer interested throughout. Very well written. Anthony LaPaglia is very convincing in his role.
July 16, 2007
James Higgins
Not that bad, not that great. Didn't really capture me, needed a bit more realism. Anthony Lapaglia's character was too over the top. Entertaining enough to want to find out the ending, but not one that will be remebered years to come.
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