Owning Mahowny

The safest bet was casting Phillip Seymour Hoffman. What a performer!

As an avid poker player and someone who has worked as a dealer in multiple casinos, I'm a big fan of gambling movies even though many of them get gambling wrong. Owning Mahowny gets it right. His position as a banker and the scheme he runs separates Mahowny from any average gambler, but Philip Seymour Hoffman's astounding performance makes this the most realistic filmic portrayal of a gambling addiction I've ever seen. The rest of the film around him isn't nearly as strong.

The film itself is not that great, but the late PSH 'owns' it in every scene he's in. Great performance, just not really engaging overall and a script that's lacking.

Decent film featuring one of the best performances of the 2000s (Seymour Hoffman, obviously).

Pretty decent thriller about a man with gambling problem. Even Hoffman can't save this movie from mediocrity. Usually I don't really pay that much attention to sets but in this film there was something wrong with them. They seemed really out of place especially in casino scenes.

Owning Mahowny is a film about Dan Mahowny, a Toronto banker with a gambling addiction. The movie portrays his struggles with addiction and obsession, and is anchored by Philip Seymour Hoffman's captivating performance. The film is a thought-provoking character study but suffers from a slow pace and lack of dramatic tension. Its focus on gambling addiction may not be of interest to all viewers, and its modest production values and dated setting could detract from its overall impact.

Coming soon to Criterion Channel: "Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman". That'd be an ideal spot for this bleakly comic character study about a gambling addict. It's a sturdy if standard premise, but PSH has a way of drawing us in to this cipher of a man, and the rather unglamorous worlds--Toronto banks and Atlantic City casinos--he traverses.

A unique take on addiction and poor choices, punctuated by a great PSH performance.

Twenty's okay.

bir karakter ve hikayesi üzerinden genele dair isabetli ve oturaklı saptamaları, paraya dair finansal dramalardan daha iyi bir resim sunuyor. philip seymour hoffman'ın kusursuz performansı, söyleyecekleri aradan kaçacakmış gibi yansımalara estetik biçimde fazla takılmış yönetmeni ve sürükleyici, suyu çıkmayan dramasıyla sağlam işleyen bir film.

13.9.15(+)

Nothing really eye opening in the plot. Straight forward shows you how the gears turned enabling his fraud with a little domestic dispute as a garnishing. The losses being faced by Mahowny were more or less understated through the lack of attention the script gave to them and PSH's non-reaction to his substantial decline. I guess this is what full commit looks like.

I don't see anything particularly wonderful about this movie outside of the truly wonderful performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman and the film's take on Gambling addiction. A solid film worth a watch and Hoffman really commits to a believable and nuanced characterization

One of the best films about the psychology of gambling and gamblers that I've seen. Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role gives a performance of such mesmerising intensity that you just can't take your eyes off him wherever he's in the frame and whatever he's doing.

Nice!

Hoffman is great and Hurt is a terrific casino boss. Recommended.

PSH...

Decent Hoffmann vehicle. Not his greatest role, though.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is just superb in this role. The movie makes us feel for him. We want him to turn out okay in the end. That's why it's so hard to watch him make the horrible decisions he does. It's this attachment the movie forces us to feel that makes it such an effective look at the consequence of gambling addiction.

This story tells about a nymphomaniac... No... An alcoholic... No, no... A junky? ... No. A man with gambling problem. They all are the same: you cannot control yourself. You loose your money and loved ones. Everything. I liked the story. There was a lot small, ingenius details supporting plot. Hoffman did his job very good. Only bad thing was that the story did not grow higher than that. Now it was a bit like short story of addict. It needed more to be great. Oh, I forgot. Minnie was horrible.

Great performance by Hoffman.

Kwietniowski's efficient directing conveys just how easily fiscal chicanery can be accomplished, and also the simple machinations of casinos that keep the big spenders spending big. The film also serves as a nice acting showcase for Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who captures the internalized tension and creaky self-denial of inveterate gambler Dan Mahowny. The supporting roles are less fulfilling, either because they're under-conceived (Minnie Driver's role) or overplayed (John Hurt).

well made but not very memorable

Starts good, but it's just waaay too slow.

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.

Who the hell eats ribs without sauce?

A sadly hilarious movie with a phenomanal Philip Seymour Hoffman performance.