'Owning Mahony' review

Originally written the week of Oct. 20th/03

Rating: ***1/2 out of ****
Owning Mahowny is one of those classic stories. It is a morality tale. It’s the story of someone who built themselves up to almost a god-like status on something illegal they’ve done and how it all comes crashing down upon them. The character then has to live with the repercussions of what they’ve done to themselves and to the others they’ve hurt. This goes up there with the likes of other such films including Scarface, Blow, and American History X.

The true story is of Brian Molony, a Toronto bank manager who supported his gambling addiction with more than $10 million in fraudulent loans from his employer, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. It is Molony on whom Philip Seymour Hoffman's character Dan Mahowny is based in the film.

I have not read the book nor have I seen real footage of the actual man, so I had to watch the film with the basic attitude that the man was fictional and that this was a fictional story. I sometimes like to do that. That way I will not be hung up on wondering how accurate the film is to the real life story – there is plenty of time to do that later. This was easy to do with the brilliant performances in the film.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s portrayal of Mahowny was nothing short of amazing. The way that he captured the adrenaline of a gambler on the win, and the desperation of a gambler on the loss was superb. I had heard a rumor that Hoffman spent much time at Gambler’s Anonymous meetings to research the role. Whether that’s true or not, I am unsure. Whatever he did to prepare for the role, he did his homework.

The supporting characters were great to see as well. John Hurt was possibly on par with Hoffman, as the casino boss interested in making Mahowny his personal pet. Minnie Driver, however, was mediocre at best in her performance of Belinda, Mahowny’s girlfriend. Again, I don’t know anything about the real woman, but if she’s that boring, I don’t think I could be in a relationship with her. Her character had no depth, and the fact that she was such a pushover made it difficult to like the character. Her one redeeming moment was when she finally stuck up for herself and left Dan in the casino after she had expected them to get married. Driver should have done some more research on her part, because I found her Canadian accent very unauthentic.

The possible Canadian stereotype was one feature of the film that was covered tastefully. They possibility to play up to cheap stereotypes had presented itself, but the filmmakers did a good job. The film was perfect though - such as the bright yellow police cars (kind of conspicuous), the Canadian police eating donuts and drinking coffee all the time, and the over trusting of almost everyone by the Canadian bank managers.

One aspect of the film I enjoyed was the cinematography, specifically the contrasting use of colors. Dan Mahowny has three different aspects to his life, the public life, the private life, and the secret life. He feels almost the same about his public and his private lives. He feels they are boring and dull. He sits in his car and wonders, “what’s the point?” However, his secret life is the world he loves and through it, gets enjoyment. To differentiate between these two aspects, very opposing colors are used. For his public life - his office, or his car - and his private life - apartment with his girlfriend - very drab colors such as grays, whites, and blues are used. His secret world is filled with casinos, lights and adventure. To represent this other end of the spectrum, a relative rainbow is used. We see every color imaginable: reds, yellows and oranges. It is the total opposite of his normal world, which he returns to after every adventure at the casino.

Another appealing trait was the metaphorical use of mirrors. In the story, mirrors present a self-reflection that Dan has on his own life as well as his decisions that affect his life, and the lives of the people in his life – such as Belinda. This is shown in the scene where Dan is looking at his reflection in the men’s room mirror after losing nine million dollars. He stares at himself, reflecting on what he’s done to bury himself deeper and deeper in his addiction. Another great representation of the mirror metaphor is when Belinda is coming down the escalator in the casino, and she passes by the wedding party. In the scene, she was under the impression that she and Dan were coming to Las Vegas to get married, and as she comes down the escalator, she is mirrored on all sides by the walls of the escalator. It affords her the opportunity to reflect on her relationship with Dan as well as the chance to leave and change her life.

The film was done very well by all parties involved. The actors were superb, the direction by Richard Kwietniowski (who previously did “Love and Death on Long Island” among others) was nothing short of brilliant. This is a genuine portrayal of addiction. It does not glorify or make it into a melodrama. It hits all the right notes.