by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
A new Netflix documentary seeks to shine some light on a true story that seems like it could come straight out of Hollywood.
How to Rob a Bank tells the story of the man behind a string of Seattle bank robberies that put him atop the FBI Most Wanted list in the early to mid-‘90s, befuddling local and federal agents for years in heists seemingly inspired by the films and the local culture of the time. It’s got some decent documentarian bona fides, too, co-directed by Seth Porges of Class Action Park and Stephen Robert Morse.
Nicknamed “Hollywood,” due to the robber’s use of makeup and disguises, the documentary leans into the moniker with the use of storyboards to literally illustrate portions of the bank robbing (paired with some of the best reenactment work I’ve ever seen). The impact of the silver screen is also a surprising factor brought up throughout. The influence of Point Break is mentioned multiple times, the cultural ideal of a Robin Hood type of figure is discussed, and the movie Heat had a very real impact on the people involved in the actual crimes. It’s a fascinating example of real life imitating art, or at least the desire to compare the two.
Taking place in the early ‘90s, the timing was perfectly for this type of true crime documentary to hit me right. It was just old enough to where, even though it was a phenomenon in the local news, I was too young to have any familiarity with it. The documentary gets all the major players involved as either the key players in the crimes or the investigation that provided some fascinating insight on events from both the law enforcement and criminal side of things. At no point was that insight as interesting as when their points of view clash, even all these years later. How they see certain climactic events differently or even just the world view of bank robbers who see what they did in a more innocent light than those fighting to stop it that have an eye on the consequences of the very real crimes that are committed, are two such examples.
Going into the documentary just expecting an exploration of a Hollywood film come to light, what really pleasantly surprised me was how much Seattle serves as both a character and the setting — particularly in the opening. There’s a fascinating dichotomy that comes together between Seattle as a city that’s going through the boom because of the explosion of tech money, paired with the more counter-culture grunge scene and the “hippie” sensibilities at play with some of our main characters. It makes for an interesting cultural cross-pollination I was not expecting that was one of the real highlights.
All of this comes together to make a perfect storm for a true crime documentary that really hit for me. It doesn’t do anything spectacular, but it takes a fascinating true story and tells it compellingly, with a few creative twists that help it stand out from the more run-of-the-mill documentary fare.
Rating: Liked It
How to Rob a Bank is currently streaming on Netflix
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