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 Owning
Mahowny
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffamn, Minnie Driver, Maury
Chaykin and John Hurt
Directed by: Richard Kwietniowski
Rated: R
DVD REVIEW
Philip Seymour Hoffman is like a stack of pure Inca gold in the
world of thespian addicts - a world I dwell happily in…He's
an actor's actor to be sure. But he also comes with a semi-stamp
of guarantee the film will be, if nothing else, thoughtful. He
snagged the celluloid glow from legendary Kathy Bates in Love
Liza (written by his brother Gordy Hoffman) a film that one
could say is a tad (Read: morbidly) depressing, and in Happiness
Hoff was so creepy many never quite looked at that "quite"
neighbor the same...His puffing one-size-too-small-tee-sporting
pervert in Boogie Nights still has some (me) in a cold
sweat at the actor's remarkable abilty at realism. And aside mega-cutey
and uber talent Robert "Bobbie Boom Boom" Deniro in
the forgotten Eddie Izzardish film Flawless he was, well,
flawless!
Owning
Mahowny even - dare I say - may out do these memorable works
for acting precision. Director Richard Kwietniowski lets the camera
dance around Hoffman - capturing the magic the actor can continually
muster up in life's more mundane citizens.
The
screenplay by Maurice Chauvet (Based on Gary Ross' book) tells
the wild (true) tale of a Toronto bank assistant manager, and
deceptively milk toast mega-bore, Dan Mahowny. Dan's the bank's
youngest assistant ever and they are damn proud of him.
Yeah,
that is until they learn Mr. Mahowny kind of uses the bank as
his personal piggy bank to stake himself in humongous gambling
soirees on the weekends.
It's
not unlike an alcoholic owning a bar…How bad can it be? Well,
Dan gets so deep into the tables' sea of chips that the slithering
casino manager (John Hurt) sends a chartered jet to "escort"
Danny boy to the floors. They wouldn't want him - or his inexhaustible
funds - to get lost now would they?
Ironically
Dan (both in the film and in real life), who's up to about ten
million in "loans" from his bank, is caught quite by
accident and once the Canuck police are onto him he's apprehended
without incident. But en route to his demise we, the audience,
see into the world of addiction on another level.
His
loving girlfriend Belinda (Minnie Driver) starts to catch on but,
naturally, is helpless to prevent the downfall. She spends her
time being a happy little co-dependent whimp...
In
the performance hands of a lesser acting talent Owning Mahowny
would be a snore fest of extreme proportions - but luckily for
us Hoffman's at the helm, and it's a remarkable look at the fluttering
obsessed. Sadly, the DVD the studio has released does not include
any of the delightful behind the scenes, or commentaries we have
all become so addicted, err, use to. But still, Owning Mahowny
should be proudly purchased - rented - or hunted down in the bohemian
theaters of your hometown because it's really about Hoffman's
work and ability to make you care about this schlub Dan. It's
a tour de force of acting by one of America's human treasures.
Snack
recommendation: Ribs, no sauce, and a coke.
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