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Directed by: Richard Kwietniowski Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver Owning Mahowny is quite possibly one of the slowest moving films I've ever seen. It's painfully slow, so much so that I wouldn't recommend watching it if you are at all ADD-prone or tired. However, if you can manage to keep yourself stuck to it, you will get to see one of the most brilliant performances of 2003. Philip Seymour Hoffman carries the entire movie and at times Owning Mahowny is little more than a one-man character study. He absolutely nails the character and is brilliant in every scene. The rest of the cast is unremarkable for the most part. Minnie Driver is out of place, wearing a god awful wig. She seems transplanted from other movie. The movie struggles to find any pace, and drifts from gambling session to gambling session (most of which blur together -- nearly every weekend Mahowny is stealing money and driving/flying off to a casino. Wash, rinse, repeat). There's some marital drama included but it's either resolved quickly or too subtle to help wake the audience up. There are some true stories which can make amazing movies on their own, and their are some which need some spicing up. Though I'm usually the most annoyed by movies which take large liberties with true stories, Owning Mahowny could've used a heavy dose of excitement. When Mahowny finally gets caught, we follow the police offers for hours before the arrest -- we know it's coming, and there's no suspense or suprise. I wouldn't of complained if they could've added some subplots or some real suprised to the movie, but they seemed intent on sticking as close as possible to the real story, which isn't all that gripping. Still, Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance is excellent and if you can handle a slow moving plot about gambling and corporate crime, this movie isn't too bad. I would be very careful about who I would recommend it to, and can only really give it a 3.0. RATING: 3.0 PROS: PSH is excellent in his portrayal of Mahowny, interesting true story CONS: Really slow moving, not much of a thriller/suspense element ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285861/
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Jul 8, 2004 02:14
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Pretty much in agreement with the OP. It seemed to plateau about halfway through, after that I kept checking to see how much time was left. Interesting story with uninteresting characters. I didn't hate it or anything, but I'd rather just read a 5-10 page article about the story instead. Rating: 3
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Feb 4, 2005 23:06
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This is a cool little movie about a geekish bank manager who likes to play the horses, and whose promotion to a VP puts him in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time as his gambling debts start to mount and realizes the easy access he now has to lots of money. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a character who is sort of a smarter, less sniveling version of "Milton" from office space, and it's a lot of fun watching his uptight, stolid presence spiral further and further out of control as he pinches increasingly larger sums from the bank to finance his weekend trips to Atlantic City and Vegas. The casino scenes are all very nicely filmed, just the right amount of slow motion and techno music, and it's very cool seeing Mahowny gradually turning from small-timer to high roller, with his own comped private suite, personal security and entourage (none of which he wants -- he just wants to play play play). This is largely a movie about addiction, and while Mahowny's embezzlement and card-playing don't have the same wanton self-destructive drama of "Requiem for a Dream" or "Leaving Las Vegas", it does a great job showing how addicts (of any sort) can single-mindedly bullshit themselves and those around them to astounding lengths. The movie also draws interesting parallels between the banking and casino industries, how both are fundamentally predatory upon their customers and yet must kiss up to those same customers to keep in business. The supporting cast is decent, without any real stand-outs (which aren't really necessary, since the story is so tightly focused around Mahowny). Minnie Driver plays Mahowny's slightly frumpy bank clerk girlfriend, not too sophisticated but a heart of gold. Maury Chaykin makes a good small-time bookie, and John Hurt, who is always a pleasure to see, is the cordial-yet-vicious casino manager who courts Mahowny into bigger and bigger games. Overall this isn't a movie of exceptional scope, nor does it try to be. I thought the pacing was very good throughout, and only dragged in the last 15 minutes or so. If you like movies about gambling or con artists, or just like interesting character studies (or just like to daydream "what would I do in that situation?"), you'll probably enjoy "Owning Mahowny". 3.5 / 5
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Jun 2, 2005 01:06
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