Till (Axel Stein) is a happy man. He's married to Miriam (Anna Marie Muhe), working as a bank teller and living a largely uneventful large where the only real danger is that after several years of a seemingly idyllic marriage things may be getting a bit stale.

Then, Nappo (Moritz Bleibtreu) enters his bank. 

A former con and unsuccessful loan applicant, Nappo robs the bank and escapes with Till and his car as hostages. Initially overcome by trauma, Till settles into what is destined to be the adventure of a lifetime. 

After an extended period on the international fest circuit, the German language Not My Day has been picked up by indie distributor Under the Milkyway for a VOD distribution beginning 7/11/2017 on all major platforms including  iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Microsoft, Vudu, Comcast, Charter, Cox, Vimeo, and various other cable operators.

Not My Day is a familiar story told exceedingly well with both Bleibtreu and Stein complementing each quite nicely and both actors transcending the fairly one-note set-ups for their characters. Bleibtreu, in particular, does a tremendous job of making a distasteful character a surprisingly sympathetic one, the sort of "love to hate" kinda guy who is absolutely essential to this kind of film. 

Shot in Amsterdam, Not My Day is a beautiful film to behold, Jan Fehse's lensing gives the film a sense of freedom and spirit that captures the fact that there's much more than just a crime drama going on in Not My Day. It's as much about what it means to be a friend as it is the actual crime that unfolded, while the film's music is practically an extra character all its own. 

As Till, Axel Stein nicely captures that transition from stuffy and stuck bank teller into a man in his 30's discovering himself along this entertaining, darkly comical journey. 

For more information about Not My Day's release, check out the Under the Milky Way website linked to in the credits. 

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic