Genre: Biographical Drama
Duration: 99 minutes
Brian Banks is a teenager with dreams of playing for the NFL, until one day when he is accused of rape and is advised to plead guilty by his lawyer and this will change his path of life.
A now adult Banks living with his mum is on parole after being released from prison. A new law implemented means all registered offenders on parole must wear an anklet and are not allowed within 2000 feet of parks and schools. This means that his career as a footballer can be over once again and as he has a criminal record it is hard for him to get a job. In other words the stakes for him are quite high.
Banks contacts the California Innocence project once again and tries to get them to reconsider and take him on. They encourage him to write a plea of Habeas Corpus to the California legal system to get them to retry him but this fails. Justin Brooks the founder of the innocence project then explains to Banks that without new evidence there is nothing that can be done.
We find out that Kennisha, the girl that accused him of rape actually lied. Banks had met her in the corridor and after they were kissing, Banks heard a teacher, got scared and ran. As a teenager Kennisha felt duped and so she accused him of rape. When he was tried, Banks was let down by the justice system who did not do their checks properly. Although all the evidence showed that he did not rape her, his lawyer tells him to take a deal and remorse courses through him with the idea of not being allowed to see his mum. Thus, Banks makes a decision and this is what ends up getting him a 6 year jail sentence.
Old classmates are interviewed again but nothing helps until Kennisha adds Banks as a friend on Facebook. Banks decides he will try and trick her into confessing she lied which she does but this cannot be used as Kennisha didn’t know she was being taped.
After talking to District Attorney Mateo, he is offered a retrial and Banks’ conviction is overturned. He is finally able to cut off his anklet and return to some sort of normality and he ends up later being signed by the Atlanta Falcons.
Brian Banks is an amazing inspirational true story of a young teenager who is wrongly accused of rape and shows how with determination someone can prove their innocence as long as they have faith in themselves.
