'Brian Banks' tells the powerful true story of a man falsely accused of rape
Alan Zilberman, The Washington Post Published 7:45 am PDT, Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Greg Kinnear, left, and Aldis Hodge in "Brian Banks."
Alfred Hitchcock was famously obsessed with the innocent man, falsely accused. In "To Catch a Thief," "The Wrong Man," "North by Northwest" and other films, he used the premise to create tantalizing suspense.
Despite a similar setup - false accusation and its aftermath - and despite some moments of true suspense, the film "Brian Banks" isn't quite Hitchcockian in the same way. Based on a true story, and anchored by a charismatic lead performance by Aldis Hodge in the title role, this multifaceted drama uses the framework of a courtroom procedural, not to thrill but to explore how our criminal justice system casts aside some of the same people it should protect.
The decision by director Tom Shadyac and screenwriter Doug Atchison to tell the story out of chronological order is important to the film's success. We first meet Hodge's Brian, not as a scared kid - at 16, the promising high school football player was accused of rape and kidnapping by a classmate - but as a sharp, collected adult, one who is striving to succeed despite bad legal advice, a prison sentence and having to register as a sex offender. Hodge's character is an archetype: the soft-spoken hero with values. After smaller roles in such films as "Straight Outta Compton," the actor delivers a performance that demonstrates that he has the potential to become a star.
Read more at: https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Brian-Banks-tells-the-powerful-true-story-of-a-14283793.php#photo-18034223
New movie coming out, sounds a bit interesting.
