The Bank Job

One of my favorite movies set in another time and location is The Bank Job. The Bank Job was released in 2007, but the setting was 1971 in London, England. The movie depicts the infamous 1971 Baker Street robbery in which small-time thieves managed to pull off one of the biggest bank heists in history, walking away with £1.5 million cash and £3m overall. The setting of this movie is very well done, and helps to make the plot and thus the movie very believable.
All aspects of the setting in The Bank Job are well done, and greatly help to immerse the audience into the movie. One example of how the setting helps to engross the audience in the movie occurs during the scene where the London Police are frantically trying to figure out which bank is being robbed. In this scene, the viewer gets to see the streets of London, which accurately reflect the era that is being portrayed. There is an authentic feel of the period in the scenery details, from the clothing style to the automobiles, which are representative of London during the 1970’s. Despite its general accuracy the fashion also has a modern twist to it. Some of the suits worn by the government agents in the movie look very contemporary, and up to today’s style, not the 1970’s. Another example of how the viewer is immersed into the movie lies within the actors' depiction of the characters’ attributes, such as tone of voice, inflection and intonation. It seems obvious, but a good accent can make or break a movie’s credibility; and the accents in The Bank Job were done perfectly.
Although it is true that many movies may give a good general overview of a place and time period, it is the subtle details that can leave one misinformed. Many directors of movies are more concerned with taking creative liberties and entertaining their audiences than they are with being 100 percent accurate to the details of a time period. If one wants to gain a basic understanding of a certain time and place, movies aren’t a bad place to start. However subtle inaccuracies, like the aforementioned, are why I believe that movies are not a very good way to learn the true particulars of a time period.