Apple’s First Original Movie ‘The Banker’ is Now Available to Stream

Apple’s movie The Banker starring Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie is now available on the Apple TV+ streaming service. Based on a true story, the movie was originally set to premiere back in 2019 around the time Apple TV+ launched and just in time for awards season, but ran into outside delays.

“We created Apple TV Plus as a home for stories that matter and believe ‘The Banker,’ inspired by the brave actions of Bernard Garrett Sr. and Joe Morris, two African American businessmen who brought about positive social change, is one of those stories,” a spokesperson for the tech company’s content arm Apple TV Plus told Variety.

The film is Apple’s first major movie, even debuting in theaters on March 6. However, critics have been giving it mixed reviews. But the strong acting seems to be enough to carry the film – it got a 100% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Here’s the movie summary from Apple TV+:

Inspired by true events, “The Banker” centers on revolutionary businessmen Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson), who devise an audacious and risky plan to take on the racist establishment of the 1960s by helping other African Americans pursue the American dream. Along with Garrett’s wife Eunice (Nia Long), they train a working-class white man, Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), to pose as the rich and privileged face of their burgeoning real estate and banking empire – while Garrett and Morris pose as a janitor and a chauffeur. Their success ultimately draws the attention of the federal government, which threatens everything the four have built. The drama is directed by George Nolfi (“The Adjustment Bureau”) and produced by Joel Viertel. Brad Feinstein produced under his Romulus Entertainment banner, along with producers Nolfi, Nnamdi Asomugha, Jonathan Baker, David Lewis Smith, and Anthony Mackie. The executive producers are Joseph F. Ingrassia, Samuel L. Jackson, Will Greenfield, David Gendron and Ali Jazayeri. “The Banker” is written by Niceole Levy, George Nolfi, David Lewis Smith and Stan Younger from a story by David Lewis Smith, Stan Younger and Brad Caleb Kane.

The film has been at the center of controversy, beginning when the co-producer – who also happens to be the real-life banker’s son, Bernard Garrett Jr. – had sexual assault allegations raised against him, causing Apple to postpone the original premiere date. Garrett Sr.’s former wives also wanted Apple to stop the premiere in March saying that the film is inaccurate and has caused harm to their family.

But as of today, The Banker is available for streaming on Apple TV+.

Tmera Hepburn