Owning Mahowny êêê Rated R
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Reviewed by Joseph M. Davis
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Directed by Richard Kwietniowski
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"Owning Mahowny" reveals the story of notorious Canadian banker/gambling addict Dan Mahowny played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Initially as Mahowny first uses his bank clients funds to pay off some small time bookies that he owes $10,300 Canadian dollars to I wasn't sure that watching that debt inevitably multiply would be enjoyable. But the cast includes some real talent, most notably in the lead role by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and in a character played by actor John Hurt, Victor, who runs the Atlantic City casino in which much of the gambling takes place. Both of these talents elevate this film into an authentic experience and they are supported by a competent cast including Minnie Driver as Mahowny's love interest.
Hoffman's performance as Mahowny is a real and unglamorous portrayal of a man with an addiction in a set of circumstances that allow that addiction to fester into grand criminal activity spanning the U.S and Canada to the tune of several million dollars. All of the money stems from loans from his bank clients both real and not. Watching the events unfold is Victor the head of the Atlantic City casino played by John Hurt. He is fascinated with Mahowny, developing a fondness for him in part because of his pure devotion to gambling that seems to come before every other temptation put before him. At the same time he must watch Mahowny like a hawk as he at times gets ahead of the game to the tune of nearly 10 million dollars in one winning streak. Mahowny is a loser but a likeable one and when he is up by 10 million dollars you want to see him walk away with it. But as the story often goes, gamblers don't know when to quit in much the same way that an alcoholic doesn't know when to stop…that is, until they are forced to.
Director Richard Kwietniowski did it right in casting Hoffman in the lead and not recycling the usual Hollywood pretty boys. This is a great film and it would have been rendered mediocre had the lead been given to someone like Mark Wahlberg and Hoffman had been one the sidelines like in 1997's "Boogie Nights".
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Rated R for language and some sexuality
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Joseph Mark Davis Ó 2003
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