Thank You for Banking With Us! doesn’t quite reach its thematic potential, but a tight, cutting script and two strong lead performances give it a much-needed edge.
Director: Laila Abbas
Genre: Drama
Run Time: 92′
Language: Arabic
BFI London Film Festival Screening (World Premiere): October 17-18, 2024
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA
Inequality is everywhere in the world. It comes in many different forms and sizes. In turn, cinema has become and always will be a unique platform to analyse such societal issues. Laila Abbas’ (Ice & Dust) Thank You for Banking With Us! hones in on the patriarchal system of Sharia law and how it favours men over women, whilst also touching on the current Israeli occupation of Palestine. True to its wry, witty title, Abbas’ drama is a strong mix of dark humour with resonant and cutting commentaries that give it a poignant edge.
In Thank You for Banking With Us!, Noura (Yasmine Al Massri, Caramel) and Maryam (Clara Khoury, Baghdad Central) are the two women tackling the unfair society in which they live. After the death of their elderly father, they face a race against the clock to get what is rightfully theirs: their father’s inheritance, which he wanted them to share. Their brother, who lives in America and visits roughly once every decade, is entitled to half the funds because of the law in Palestine. Before he finds out, the sisters must think of a way to withdraw the money without his knowledge and forego an increasingly unfair situation.
This setup results in a number of humorous escapades, whilst also never reducing the more serious themes of oppression and inequality that Abbas is highlighting. Thank You for Banking With Us! notes very clearly how farcical and outdated such laws are, and roars with anger against them. Despite this understandable rage, Abbas’ film, whilst never fizzling out, doesn’t ever explode into the ferocious thing that it frequently promises to be. Abbas shows skill in a tight script layered with commentaries, but falters in structuring it in the most incendiary way possible. It’s never lacklustre, but sometimes lacking certain elements.
Most of the scenes are helmed strongly by Al Massri and Khoury. Together, the pair share brilliant chemistry, giving us a clear sense of the differences they have had in the past and showing how uniting together will be the best way to achieve this form of equality. Their characters are a little underdeveloped, with some backstory left unclear and ambiguous, but both onscreen people are engaging. Most importantly, their relationship, which is at the core of Thank You for Banking With Us!, feels strong and real. In contrast, some other characters and tangents, such as the backstory to Maryam’s son Ali, don’t develop fully.
Amongst other things, Abbas shows a promising eye for scathing oneliners. At one point, Maryam asks if she needs to wait for Palestine to be free before she can get a divorce. In one succinct sentence, Abbas sums up the frustrations harboured by Palestinian women as well as the various challenges they face in their lives. Abbas’ screenplay doesn’t constantly hit these heights—it lags in pacing and feels too procedural until a terrific final stretch—but when it does, it is a joy to watch. It also shows that there is an even better film buried within the relatively decent Thank You for Banking With Us! that we never quite get.
Thank You for Banking with Us! will be screened at the BFI London Film Festival on October 17-18, 2024.
