An excerpt from my script review for The Banker which will be available 03/09/20:
3.) Quality of Characters
Bernard.
Our main character who, from an early age, was destined to be a success. He’s not above manual labor to provide for his family, but knows he wants more out of life. His practicality always wins out, even over pride.
Joe.
A successful club owner playboy who doesn’t trust anyone, especially white people. Even though he grew up with money, and in Los Angeles, he still understands just how “real” the world he lives in can be.
Matt.
The “self-effacing” white guy that acts as the Front Man for Bernard and Joe’s purchases. He’s eager to learn from the pair, but has aspirations of being the third partner.
Throw these three into a segregated time period in US history and there’s bound to be drama!
And not just between black and white…Bernard initially avoids any and all help from Joe, despite his wife, Eunice’s insistence.
Their personalities clash and that’s what we need!
Creating characters like this works. You want them to not get along. You need them to have arguments. The audience craves the tension that inevitably builds!
The more contrast you set up early on, the better your story will be in the later acts.
And this one did well…
The tension between Joe and Bernard.
Bringing Matt onboard, and things go smoothly early on in their partnership until…BOOM! Outside racial forces and stereotypes play in, and Matt suddenly wants a piece for himself.
And realistically, he’s not wrong for wanting it in my opinion. What have Bernard and Joe done to him other than realistically taken advantage of him as they were once taken advantage of?
Bernard argues that buying the second bank for Joe is risking their money (he and Joe’s), but they’re getting the down payment from a real estate accounting commission that Matt discovers.
How is this any different than Bernard and Joe taking out loans via the WPM (white people’s money) banks for their Los Angeles endeavors?
By this particular point in the story, it felt like Matt deserved a shot, it’s just sad that it blew up in everyone’s face.
(Another bit I’d be interested to see how close it followed fact.)
Whether fact or fiction, it still made for a compelling narrative that moved quick, and had an interesting ending.
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