Bank of Dave 2 star Rory Kinnear explains how films tap into same themes as Mr Bates
"Dave and from what I see of Alan, they are as socially or fairness minded as they are bloody minded."
Few film or TV projects in recent years have had anywhere near the real world impact of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which led to a renewed interest in the Post Office scandal and actual legislative change following its release on ITV last year.
But one film that is hoping it might be able to rival it in terms of leading to proper change is the newly released Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger, a sequel to the hit Netflix film from two years ago starring Rory Kinnear as Burnley-based businessman Dave Fishwick.
Like Mr Bates, the new film focuses on a working-class hero determined to stand up for ordinary people in the face of a great injustice – in this case, the pernicious behaviour of pay-day lenders targeting vulnerable and desperate people.
Fishwick's work in real life has already brought about some change, and he recently told RadioTimes.com that he was determined to keep going after loan sharks, explaining: "I'm going to see if I can get as many as I can shut down."
And according to star Kinnear, he can see one or two parallels between Fishwick and Bates.
“Dave and from what I see of Alan, they are as socially or fairness minded as they are bloody minded," he explained in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.
"Dave is not somebody that ever hears the word no, let alone accepts it, and it feels like Alan Bates was similar in his determination, in his doggedness not to be swamped or to be silent.
"And I think people when it's for the common good and when it's clearly sticking up for the little man who is in danger of being swamped by big industry or big commerce, or whatever it is, the system, you need someone who is relentless.”
Read more:
- Bank of Dave sequel is much more real than original, says Dave Fishwick
- Martin Clunes and Out There creator address potential for Mr Bates-style impact
Meanwhile Jo Hartley, who plays Dave's wife Nicky in the film, also revealed that she hopes the film "shines a light" on the issue of payday lenders and "brings a lot of awareness" to what has been going on,
"Hopefully it would stop the people from using those kinds of institutions and entities or whatever they are," she said.
"I was watching quite a lot of stuff on YouTube. And you know, if people are really struggling to get money alone, they're going to try and do what they can, and then they get caught up in the system where they can't even pay back. It's a really nasty system. So hopefully the film will highlight it."
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Bank of Dave 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
