Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
Kaydan Christian
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Cristal
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
MartinHafer
"Owning Mahowny" is a hard film for me to love...much like "Catch Me If You Can" or "The Polka King". This is because all three are true stories about sociopaths who spent much of their lives hurting, stealing and lying to people...and making a movie about them just gives these awful people more notoriety. I certainly would hope they wouldn't benefit financially from the films and I hate to imagine the films making them heroes in the eyes of the viewers....but I fear both are indeed the case for these god-awful people.This story is about a man who committed the largest single person bank fraud in Canadian history...$10,000,000. The film begins with Mahowny* (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) deeply in dept for gambling...and he soon makes it worse by trying to gamble his way out of the problem. To do this, he is playing fast and loose with the bank's customers as well as creating dummy corporations to help hide this! A part of the story is about the culpability of the casinos in the embezzlement. The film contends that in many ways the casinos (embodied in the form of a sleazy guy played by John Hurt) should have known that a man making a very modest salary could NOT legally be gambling millions. And, they profited by his repeated trips to Vegas and Atlantic City...so there wasn't a lot of incentive to get him to stop or to alert authorities.The film features some nice acting and is an understated sort of film...with little glitz despite the locations involved. There also are no big surprises...as the IMDB page talks all about the embezzlement and the film never leads up to it...he's already spending money he doesn't have when the story begins. So there's little in the way of suspense...and the ending was incredibly anti-climactic. Despite this, it's interesting and worth seeing...though far from a must-see.By the way, the DVD does NOT have closed captions for the hearing impaired.
Woodyanders
Seemingly ordinary zhlub bank executive Dan Mahowny (superbly played with remarkable restraint and precision by Philip Seymour Hoffman) uses his access to other people's bank accounts to finance his compulsive gambling habit. Mahowny puts himself in great jeopardy when he uses his illegally acquired cash to embark on all or nothing gambling sprees in Atlantic City.Director Richard Kwietniowski offers a fascinatingly vivid and sordid evocation of a glittery, yet shadowy neon netherworld governed by greed and populated by shady types who are out to make a fast buck by any means necessary. The central character of Dan Mahowny makes for a compelling tragic figure: With his frumpy suits, beat-up jalopy of a car, and forever calm external demeanor, Mahowny clearly only cares about gambling and the thrill of putting it all on the line. Moreover, there's something morbidly arresting (and wickedly funny) about watching this doomed fanatic dig his own grave and jump in it feet first. Maurice Chauvet's exceptionally well constructed script ensures that each and every scene adds up and keeps the narrative moving inexorably towards in unavoidable, but still poignant downbeat ending. While Hoffman clearly dominates the film with his marvelously understated portrayal, he nonetheless receives sterling support from Minnie Driver as Mahowny's loyal, but worried fiancé Belinda, John Hurt as sleazy and amoral casino manager Victor Foss, who's sole concern is bilking Mahowny for every last dime he can get; Maury Chayin as fed-up and irascible bookie Frank Perlin, Ian Tracey as the dogged Detective Ben Lock, Sonja Smits as distraught client Dana Selkirk, and K.C. Collins as friendly bellboy Bernie. Kudos are also in order for the glossy cinematography by Oliver Curtis and the moody jazz score by The Insects and Richard Grassby-Lewis. Highly recommended.
room102
This the probably the fourth time I'm watching this movie.The movie is about gambling addiction and like "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead", Hoffman plays a "straight" guy that has an addiction that he hides from the world. And yes, after his death, his roles in both movies have more meaning.This is a great movie. Yet another example of skillfully making a small and low-key movie without being boring.One of the most difficult things about this movie is that it has extensive scenes of a man sitting in front of a gambling table. It could have been boring in the hands of any other filmmaker, but this is done skillfully here. The combination of great score, acting, editing and cinematography makes it a delight and the movie doesn't bore you even for one minute. This is a great accomplishment and everyone in the crew and cast (Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Hurt) should be credited for that.Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent, but you already know that. I said it once and I'll say it again: This actor can take any simple role/character and make it the most interesting in the world. What a talent. What a loss.John Hurt is also great.7/10 Excellent
phd_travel
This is a well done true story movie about gambling addiction the fraud on the Canadian bank is secondary. It's not theatrical in the depiction of the gambling and it's quite real life. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives an understated performance. Sometimes the mumbling can't be understood but the addiction is convincing. It's so understated that it's more believable and painful to watch him give everything back to the house. Minnie Driver with her strange wig is quite a sympathetic girlfriend. The Faustian casino manager played well by John Hurt. Overall worth a watch.
