''Bank of Dave'' is a 2023 British

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Chris Foggin Chris Foggin (born 15 September 1985 in Sunderland) is an English film director and screenwriter. Biography and career Foggin was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. He studied media and film at Northumbria University in Newcastle. While he was ...

, written by Piers Ashworth and produced by Matt Williams, Karl Hall and Piers Tempest. It stars Joel Fry,

Phoebe Dynevor Phoebe Harriet Dynevor (; born 17 April 1995) is an English actress. She is known for starring in the films '' The Colour Room'' (2021), '' Fair Play'' (2023), and ''Inheritance'' (2025) as well as the first two series of the period drama ''Br ...

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in ''The Man of Mode'', and for playing the William Shakespeare villain ...

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams (born 10 November 1963), known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' from ...

Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...

Jo Hartley Jo Hartley (born ) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the films '' Dead Man's Shoes'' (2004), ''This Is England'' (2006), ''The Young Victoria'' (2009), '' Torvill & Dean'' (2018), '' Slaughterhouse Rulez'' (2018), '' Eddie th ...

and

Cathy Tyson Catherine Tyson (born 12 June 1965) is an English actress. She won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), which also earned her Best Supporting Actress no ...

. It was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 16 January 2023 by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. A sequel, '' Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger'', was released on 10 January 2025.

Plot

The film is based on the real-life experiences of Dave Fishwick. It follows the story of a

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

self-made millionaire who struggles to set up a community bank to help the town's local businesses to thrive. To do so, he must battle London's elite financial institutions and compete for the first banking licence in more than 150 years.

Cast

as Dave Fishwick *

as Alexandra * Joel Fry as Hugh *

as Sir Charles Denbigh * Angus Wright as Clarence *

as Rick Purdey *

as Nicola Fishwick *

as Maureen Clayton *

Naomi Battrick Naomi Faye Battrick (born 11 April 1991) is an English actress. Career Battrick was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire. Her first television appearance was in a guest role on ''The Bill'' as Miranda Roscoe. She subsequently won the part of 15- ...

as Henrietta * Florence Hall as Meghan * Drew Cain as Prosecutor * Grant Crookes as Press * Joanne James as Pub Patron * Amanda Marchant as Pub Patron The film includes cameos by band

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

, the-then

Burnley FC Burnley Football Club () is a professional football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1882, Burnley were one of the first to beco ...

manager

Sean Dyche Sean Mark Dyche (; born 28 June 1971) is an English professional football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of Premier League club Everton. During his playing career, Dyche played as a centre-back, making his pro ...

, and real-life Bank of Dave chief financial officer David Henshaw.

Production

Netflix acquired the film rights of ''Bank of Dave'', with Piers Ashworth writing and

directing the film under the production companies Tempo Productions Limited, Future Artists Entertainment,

Ingenious Media Ingenious Media (styled as INGENIθUS) is a division of London-based Ingenious Capital Management Limited, also known as Ingenious. The company was founded in 1998 by Patrick McKenna and is focused on media, real estate and infrastructure. Film ...

and Rojovid Films. Pre-production began on 8 January 2022 and filming commenced on 28 February 2022. The film was in post-production between 18 April 2022 and 27 September 2022, and the film was completed on 22 December 2022. Although some scenes were filmed in and around Burnley, most of the production was filmed in Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield in Yorkshire, including City Hall in Bradford, Production Park in Wakefield, with most of the pub and cafes scenes filmed in Leeds.

Reception

Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Cath Clarke judged that, "Rory Kinnear is brilliant as Fishwick, who made his fortune selling vans and minibuses but has never forgotten his roots", adding that, "Kinnear gives the character a winning mix of down-to-earth blokiness with a rags-to-riches flamboyance (and a bit of ego to match the flash car)". However, Clarke found that " e rest of the characters feel as if they might have been generated by an algorithm" although she noted that "Hugh Bonneville gives good sneer as a fatcat banker". Overall, she decided, "It’s a film with a decent bit of charm, and it’s hard to argue with the greed-is-bad message. ..But an artificial taste ruins a fair few scenes".

True story

The film gives a disclaimer at the start saying it is "true(ish)". While the basic story and some of the locations are true (scenes were even filmed in Dave Fishwick's own home), much of the film is fictional. * The lawyer (actually two lawyers, Keith Arrowsmith and Chris Moss) were based in Manchester and both married already * There was no senior banker, "Sir Charles Denbigh" in the film, who tipped off the Burnley police to bring a prosecution * The rock band

did not perform at a fund-raising concert at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C., Burnley Football Club since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in Footbal ...

. The band flew from the US just to film their cameo in the film. * A true bank has not yet been established and is actually Burnley Savings and Loans, a legal peer-to-peer lender. The capital demanded by the FSA was never raised and so the company is still in the process of getting a banking licence. Above the door is a sign saying "Bank on Dave", which avoids claiming that it is a bank

Sequel

A sequel film, ''Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger'', was released on 10 January 2025, with Kinnear reprising his role.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bank of Dave 2020s British films 2023 comedy-drama films 2023 films British biographical films British comedy-drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s biographical films English-language biographical films Netflix original films Films about banking Films set in Lancashire English-language comedy-drama films