Owning Mahowny (2003)

Wow! Such a good movie.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Low budget movie which may work to this movies advantage. No frills, no glitz. Probably about 98% of this movie either takes place at Mahoneys place employment or the casino. There's a romantic side to this story but it thankfully does not take away from the film but actually adds to it without interference to the story.Hoffman utilizes so many different emotions in this movie it really is remarkable, a bit of joy, despair, anxiety plus being an asshole. The script is excellent, keeps a nice pace, very well acted, very very good cast not only with Hoffman, Hurt and Driver but a sound supporting ensemble.

What transcends and carries this true story of the largest bank fraud case in Canadian history is the phenomenal central performance of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Dan Mahowny (Hoffman) is a bank manager with a serious gambling problem. With his position, he has access to a multi- million dollar account witch ultimately leads to him gambling $10 million dollars in a span of 18 months. The main focus of the screenplay is Mahowny's obsession and compulsion and it's devastating effects professionally and personally. It's Hoffman's ability to reveal to us that beneath his all consuming addiction lies a descent, desperate soul.

I got the gist of this movie within the first 15 minutes and kept with it hoping it would go somewhere. I'm sure this is a very accurate portrayal of this gambler, but it revealed absolutely nothing about the man. Remorse he expresses later in the film is puzzling and I'm not sure he believes it. I sure don't know what his girlfriend sees in him. God knows it's at best a dreary experience hanging out with him. I don't know if it's the screenplay itself or the director or what. Intriguing performances from Murray Chaykin (always great) and John Hurt. There is an interesting thematic thread of the greed that orbits the central character. In the end however, the redeeming elements were only barely enough to keep me awake to end (if you could even call it that). I love some of Hoffman's work but he's made several of these studies of utter obsession that are punishingly boring. I found it striking that one reviewer called this a dry comedy. I'll have to look up "comedy" in the dictionary and see if perhaps it has an alternate meaning.

In "Owning Mahowny," Philip Seymour Hoffman proved before his Oscar win to be one of the great actors of his generation, playing a compulsive gambler who embezzles millions from his employer, a bank. Dracula is in charge of the blood bank.Mahowny is a fascinating character. He's a cheap slob who drives an old car. Though he loves his girlfriend (Minnie Driver), he hasn't confided in her. In fact, he lies to her, as he lies to everyone. His god is gambling -- not money, just gambling. As Frank Perlin (Maury Chaykin), one of the guys who takes his action attests, "He just wants to have the money to lose." We watch Mahowny get in deeper and deeper, creating false loans and stealing from his clients. He becomes a VIP at an Atlantic City casino where he is given the best of everything and offered even more, but he's not going to do anything that takes away from his time at the tables. Unbeknownst to him, the Feds are interested in some of his associates and become curious about this Mahowny guy, thinking he may be in on a drug racket.This movie will keep you hooked throughout. Hoffman is brilliant and even sports a Canadian accent (the film was made there and the real Mahowny is Canadian). Hoffman comes from my home town, and as we are close to Canada, he is familiar with the accent.The rest of the acting is uniformly good, with the standout being the remarkable John Hurt as the casino owner who wants Mahowny to keep throwing money at the casino and will do anything to keep him there. The insight into the gambling world is amazing, and may keep you away from the tables the next time you're in Vegas or Atlantic City.