{"id":18888,"date":"2019-08-06T20:38:49","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T03:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=18888"},"modified":"2019-08-06T20:38:49","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T03:38:49","slug":"brian-banks-benefits-from-an-empathetic-lead-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=18888","title":{"rendered":"BRIAN BANKS Benefits from an Empathetic Lead Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/24_0007_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14285\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those unfamiliar with the group, the California\nInnocence Project is a non-profit organization based out of San\n  Diego that reviews cases and provides free legal\nservices to wrongly convicted individuals. What does their work have to do with\nthe movies and popular entertainment in general? Well, this week sees the\nrelease of a biopic that details the story of <em>Brian Banks<\/em>, one such\nperson whom the group represented in court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/brian-banks-movie-kitchen-table-eating-1024x628.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18889\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the movie begins, Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge) is introduced\nas a promising football player with dreams of being drafted into the NFL.\nHowever, his life has taken a turn for the worse after being convicted of rape\nat the age of 16 in his local high school. Released from prison, Banks does his\nbest to restart his career. Unfortunately, he finds most institutions and\nemployers unwilling to hire or help him, and his probation requirements prevent\nhis development. Frustrated but unwavering in his insistence that he did not\ncommit the crime, he attempts to convince California Innocence Project attorney\nJustin Brooks (Greg Kinnear) to help him clear his name. His positivist\nattitude inspires the team and as more and more about the case is uncovered,\nthey begin to believe they may have a chance in overturning the conviction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/brian-banks-banks-kinnear-classroom-1024x583.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18890\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a small picture and one that is, in many respects,\nless-than-subtle. It is very clear from the outset that the lead is completely\ninnocent and the movie doesn&#8217;t shy away from big emotional moments and outbursts\nas the man faces roadblock after roadblock (a grand orchestral score emphasizes\nsuch moments). Director Tom Shadyak (<em>Ace Ventura: Pet Detective<\/em>, <em>Patch\nAdams<\/em>, <em>Bruce Almighty<\/em>) might have been wiser to employ a softer and\nless obvious approach with the score during some of these grander moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/brian-banks-movie-bar-banks-kinnear-1024x595.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18891\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, the cast are committed and do a fine job in displaying\nthe turmoil and pain of having to survive such an ordeal. In between scenes of\nBanks trying to remain upbeat about his plight, we do see him internalize the\npain as further impediments are thrown in front of him. In addition to being\nstuck in a particular country and unable to get work, the false conviction also\nputs a strain on a burgeoning relationship. The actor also does a stellar job\nof reacting with shock, fear, anger and confusion during an unexpected\nencounter with Kennisha Rice (Xosha Roquemore), the student who accused him of\nrape. Kinnear is also solid as an attorney who fears he has become complacent\nand cynical and is inspired by Banks unwillingness to give up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/brian-banks-hugging-mom-outside-courtroom-1024x591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18892\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you might expect, nothing in this particular story will\ncome as much of a surprise. However, the tale is well-performed by its stars,\nwho do make viewers feel empathy in between expositional conversations that\nexplicitly state the film&#8217;s message. While it may not be the most subtle movie\nin the world, the California Innocence Project is a valuable and important\nservice that is certainly worthy of the publicity and needs to be supported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, <em>Brian Banks<\/em> is a decent biopic that, at the very least, provides viewers with an opportunity to learn more about the remarkable work of this organization, along with the unending efforts of an innocent man forced to endure 12 unnecessary years of suffering in order to get his life back on track. Those curious about his story will likely be inspired by the man and his fighting spirit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For those unfamiliar with the group, the California Innocence Project is a non-profit organization based out of San Diego that reviews cases and provides free legal services to wrongly convicted individuals. What does their work have to do with the movies and popular entertainment in general? Well, this week sees the release of a biopic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[197,936,3490,3491,3492,3493,3768,6251,7711,8631,23321],"class_list":["post-18888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-197","tag-aldis-hodge","tag-brian-banks","tag-brian-banks-film-review","tag-brian-banks-movie-review","tag-brian-banks-review","tag-california-innocence-project","tag-drama","tag-football","tag-greg-kinnear","tag-true-story"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}