Bank of Dave (film)

Bank of Dave is a 2023 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Chris Foggin, written by Piers Ashworth and produced by Matt Williams, Karl Hall and Piers Tempest. It stars Joel Fry, Phoebe Dynevor, Rory Kinnear, Hugh Bonneville, Paul Kaye, Jo Hartley and Cathy Tyson.

It was released in the United Kingdom on 16 January 2023 by Netflix.

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

 * Joel Fry as Hugh
 * Phoebe Dynevor as Alexandra
 * Rory Kinnear as Dave
 * Hugh Bonneville as Sir Charles
 * Angus Wright as Clarence
 * Paul Kaye as Rick Purdey
 * Jo Hartley as Nicola Fishwick
 * Cathy Tyson as Maureen
 * Naomi Battrick 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, the-then Burnley FC manager Sean Dyche, 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 Chris Foggin directing the film under the production companies Tempo Productions Limited, Future Artists Entertainment, Ingenious Media 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, 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 "[t]he 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 David Fishwick's own home), much of the film is fictional.
 * The lawyer, Chris Moss, was based in Manchester and was 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 Def Leppard did not perform at a fund-raising concert at Turf Moor. 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