To celebrate Juneteenth celebration, Apple has made its original film, “The Banker,” free for the rest of June.
Inspired by true events, “The Banker” centers on businessmen Bernard Garrett (Anthony Mackie) and Joe Morris (Samuel L. Jackson), who devise a 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 they have built.
“The Banker” is directed by George Nolfi (“The Adjustment Bureau”) and produced by Joel Viertel. Brad Feinstein produced under his Romulus Entertainment banner, along with producers George 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.
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19 as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.
To watch the film, launch the Apple TV app on any supported device and search for “The Banker.”
