'Brian Banks' Trailer: The True Story Of The Wrongly Convicted Football Star Gets The Inspirational Drama Treatment

Bleecker Street has released the official Brian Banks trailer, which tackles a controversial subject within the confines of a inspirational sports drama. The drama follows the titular Brian Banks, a former American high school footballer who was primed to become one of the biggest NFL stars of his generation. But when he is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit, his life is upended. Watch the Brian Banks trailer below.

At 16 years old, Brian Banks was an All-American high school football star who seemed destined for the big leagues. But in his junior year of high school, he is falsely accused of sexual assault and imprisoned for six years, until the nonprofit California Innocence Project re-litigated his case and found him innocent.

The Brian Banks trailer wisely focuses on the criminal justice aspects of Brian Banks' case and not the sensitive subject of sexual assault, which are true more often than not. But that didn't stop this film from being a source of controversy when it premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, and later played at the Cleveland Film Festival earlier this month. However, the performances by Aldis Hodge, best known for Straight Outta Compton, and Greg Kinnear could elevate this film from its touchy subject matter.

Aldis Hodge stars as the titular Brian Banks, with a cast including Greg Kinnear, Melanie Liburd, Tiffany Dupont, Sherri Shepherd, Matt Battaglia, Xosha Roquemore, Dorian Missick, and Dean Denton.

Here is the synopsis for Brian Banks:

The inspirational true story of Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge), an All-American high school football star committed to USC who finds his life upended when he is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Despite lack of evidence, Banks is railroaded through a broken justice system and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation. Years later, with the support of Justin Brooks (Greg Kinnear) and the California Innocence Project, Banks fights to reclaim his life and fulfill his dreams of playing in the NFL.

Brian Banks hits theaters on August 9, 2019.