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OWNING MAHOWNY Rating:  (out of 5 stars)Director: Richard Kwietniowski Producers: Andras Hamori, Seaton McLean, Alessandro Camon Writer: Maurice Chauvet, based on the book "Stung" by Gary Ross Director of Photography: Oliver Curtis, B.S.C. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chakin, John Hurt Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew |
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Review by: Warren
Curry
4/28/03
(Read
the interview with director Richard Kwietniowski)
A cautionary although undeniably titillating tale about the abyss of gambling addiction, Owning Mahowny is a mainstream film masquerading as arthouse fare, which in this case should be read as high praise. Richard Kwietniowksi (Love and Death on Long Island) has crafted a superbly paced, highly entertaining and thoroughly intelligent look at the downfall of a man consumed by a vice, but is careful to never vilify the vice or inadvertently exploit the man. The director keeps the audience at the correct distance from the lead character's plight and the message here is a self-explanatory one that doesn't need a filmmaking heavy hand to convey its point. Lesser filmmakers may certainly not have understood this.
Set in early 80s Toronto, and based on a true story, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays assistant bank manager Dan Mahowny, who uses his job as a way to fund his passion. With a few phone calls and a couple of signatures, Mahowny is able to gradually embezzle millions of dollars from the bank and into his pocket which aids him in trying to pay off the bookie (Maury Chakin) he is hopelessly indebted to. But even high stakes bets on sporting events can't satiate the man's appetite for the thrill of the wager, so trips to Atlantic City become a routine part of his life. In Atlantic City, where Mahowny is more than happy to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, the casino manager, Victor Foss (John Hurt), does whatever he can to make the experience as painless as possible for Mahowny, meaning that the gambler's hotel suite and countless other luxuries are all compliments of the house.
Few scams are able to last forever, and this one is no exception as the walls begin to close in Mahowny ever so surely. In addition, his co-worker girlfriend, Belinda (Minnie Driver), is finally beginning to lose hope in the man after being permissive to the point of foolishness. There's a climactic trip to Atlantic City and since this film is based on actual events, I'll leave it to you to figure out how it ends. However, knowing the conclusion beforehand will not have any effect on how you view this film.
Looking at the supporting characters first, John Hurt's ruthless casino manager is a little too black and white, but fits in adequately with the atmosphere of the film. A little Minnie Driver goes a long way, so thankfully that's all we get of the actress. Philip Seymour Hoffman has already made a career of playing sad sack characters like Dan Mahowny and as the cliché goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Mahowny's character is so unobtrusive and so full of contradictions that it's difficult to work up empathy for him, and, as strange as it may sound, that's part of what makes this film work so well. There's none of the usual emotional baggage to wade through when dealing with this type of cinematic subject matter, so as it pertains to the protagonist you are something of a true observer.
And of course that's also the slippery slope of Owning Mahowny. Is it okay to be spared the pain of this ostensibly tragic character while watching him for almost 2 (very quick) hours? Should you feel at ease riding the roller coaster of thrills that this movie provides by way of the ultimate misery of this character? Is it wrong if you have a lot of fun watching this film? Only the individual audience member can answer these questions. I, personally, found it refreshing that Kwietniowski didn't make Mahowny's affliction or character either easily sympathetic or repulsive. In the end, you're not being asked to judge the man.
There's really no reason (except for a
cast that doesn't exactly guarantee big dollar box office) why
a broad range of viewers couldn't appreciate this film. It moves
quickly, delivers a suitable amount of excitement and fits an
interesting central character into a very traditionally plotted
narrative. Moreover Owning Mahowny is likely destined to
become a CinemaSpeak staff favorite…ooops -- was that too
much of a confession? Regardless, I can safely say as we roll
into the month of May that Owning Mahowny is my kind of
summer movie.
(A Sony Pictures Classics release. Opens in NY and LA on May
2, 2003. Expands to more cities at later dates.)
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