THE SILENT PARTNER

Miles Cullen, a teller at a bank in a Toronto shopping mall (the Eaton Centre), accidentally learns that his place of business will be robbed when he finds a discarded hold up note on one of the bank's counters. Harry Reikle, a mall Santa Claus outside the bank, has a "give to charity" sign whose handwriting is similar to that on the note.

Instead of informing his bosses or contacting the police, Miles begins stashing the cash from his window's transactions in an old lunch box rather than in the bank's till. When held up at the teller's counter by Reikle, Miles hands over a small amount and then reports that he gave all the money from his day's transactions.

Reikle figures out what happened when he sees news reports of how much was stolen during the robbery. He makes violent attempts to get the money (totalling CA$48,300) that Miles has kept for himself. Reikle starts following Miles to and from his home, and making threatening calls to him.

Miles attracts the attention of bank colleague Julie Carver, who has been having an affair with the bank's married manager, Charles Packard. After escorting Julie to a Christmas party at the Packards' house, he tells her that he is attracted to her.

When Reikle breaks into Miles' apartment and trashes it looking for the money, Miles turns the tables by following Reikle and setting him up to be arrested for the theft of a delivery truck. When brought to the police station to identify Reikle in a lineup, Miles does not point him out, aware that Reikle would then implicate him in the bank robbery.

Months later, at his father's funeral, Miles meets a woman named Elaine who says she was a nurse who had been caring for his father. Elaine is actually working with the imprisoned Reikle, who wants her to keep tabs on Miles and possibly discover where he hid the money. However, by the time Elaine discovers that Miles has stashed the money in a safety deposit box at his bank, Reikle no longer trusts her, correctly deducing that she has become romantically involved with Miles. Julie, meanwhile, has begun to suspect something about Miles and his new girlfriend.

Reikle is released from jail and confronts Elaine over where her loyalties lie. She admits that she has fallen in love with Miles. Enraged, Reikle decapitates her in a broken fishtank in Miles' apartment. After discovering what Reikle has done to Elaine, Miles disposes of her body in the foundation of the bank's new building under construction. Reikle, having watched Miles do so, congratulates him on his cleverness, but threatens to kill him unless he gets the money.

Miles agrees, but insists it be handed over in a public place where no harm can come to him. They agree that Reikle will come to the bank, again in disguise, and be handed the money at Miles' window, where Miles will feel safe. The next day, Reikle arrives dressed as a woman. After Miles hands him a packet, Reikle says that he intends to kill him anyway, for all the problems Miles has caused him. Anticipating that Reikle was intending that, Miles hands him a forged recreation of the original stick-up note and shouts "he has a gun" while triggering the alarm. Shocked, Reikle shoots Miles, flees into the mall and is shot by the bank security guard. A gravely wounded Reikle tells the guard that Miles gave him the bank's money; the guard, not comprehending Reikle, responds, "Whose money did you expect?"

A wounded Miles is taken away by ambulance. Julie goes along, telling Miles that she has figured out everything. Both decide to quit their jobs and find another line of work, somewhere far away.

Reikle, disguised as a woman, confronts Miles at the bank to retrieve the money, threatening to kill him despite Miles' precautions.

The ending crystallizes the film's central theme: cunning versus brutality. Miles' calculated risk is met with Reikle's relentless violence, proving that even the most meticulous plans can spiral out of control when confronted with a predator who refuses to play by the rules. The unresolved tension at the climax leaves the viewer reflecting on the costs of playing a dangerous game for high stakes.