Owning Mahowny
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''Owning Mahowny'' is a 2003 Canadian film about
gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...
with a cast that includes
Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...
,
Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic ''Grosse ...
,
Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...
and
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
. Based on the true story of a Toronto bank employee who embezzled more than $10 million to feed his gambling habit, ''Owning Mahowny'' was named one of the ten best films of the year by critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
.


Plot

Between 1980 and 1982,
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
bank employee Dan Mahowny is given access to bigger and bigger accounts with his promotion to assistant branch manager. His boss trusts him, but is unaware that Mahowny is a compulsive gambler. Mahowny is soon skimming larger and larger amounts for his own use and making weekly trips to
Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
, where he is treated like a king by the
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
manager. Mahowny's girlfriend, fellow bank employee Belinda, cannot understand what is happening. Mahowny's criminal acts come to light when Toronto police begin to investigate his longtime bookie Frank.


Cast

*
Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...
as Dan Mahowny *
Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic ''Grosse ...
as Belinda *
Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...
as Frank Perlin *
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
as Victor Foss *
Sonja Smits Sonja Smits (born September 8, 1958) is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for two Genie Awards: for ''Videodrome'' (1983) and '' That's My Baby!'' (1984). On television, she starred in '' Street Legal'' (1987-1992) and '' Traders'' (1996-2000) ...
as Dana Selkirk *
Ian Tracey Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
as Detective Ben Lock *
Jason Blicker Jason Blicker is a Canadian film and television actor.Rita Zekas, "Expats: Ice work if you can get it". ''Toronto Star'', July 19, 2003. He has had several small roles in television series including recurring roles on '' Robocop'', '' F/X: The S ...
as Dave Quinson * Chris Collins as Bernie *
Matthew Ferguson Matthew Ferguson (born 3 April 1973) is a Canadian former actor. He is known for his roles in '' On My Own'' (1991), ''Love and Human Remains'' (1993), ''Lilies'' (1996), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1997–2001). Life and career Ferguson was bo ...
as Martin *
Janine Theriault Janine Theriault (born 1975) is a Canadian actress known for her work in the films '' Bleeders'' (1997), ''Owning Mahowny'' (2003), and '' Relax, I'm from the Future'' (2022), as well as the TV series ''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (2001–2002), ''MVP ...
as Maggie *
Conrad Dunn Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in ''Stripes'' (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in ''Days of Our Lives'' as Nick Co ...
as Edgar *
Mike "Nug" Nahrgang The Minnesota Wrecking Crew is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe, featuring members John Catucci, Josh Glover, Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang and Ron Sparks. They all met as members of The Vanier Improv Company. The group won two consecutive Canadian Comed ...
as Parking Attendant * Philip Craig as Briggs * Tony Munch as Observer #2 * M. J. Kang as Secretary


Production


Background

''Owning Mahowny'' is based on a real-life incident:
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...
clerk
Brian Molony Brian Molony is a Canadian self-admitted compulsive former gambler from Toronto, famous for embezzling millions from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the second-largest bank in Canada, to feed his personal gambling habit.Thompson, William ...
embezzled Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
over $10 million from his employers in just 18 months to support his gambling habit. Molony's story was told in the best-selling 1987 book ''Stung'' by journalist Gary Ross, which formed the basis for the screenplay. In an interview on the web site of ''Stung'' publishers McClelland and Stewart, Ross says he has kept in touch with Molony and updated what happened to him after the events portrayed in the movie. Molony was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud, eventually serving only two years of his sentence. He has not gambled since his arrest, has married his girlfriend, has three sons and works as a financial consultant. Molony was a manager at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, with access to significant resources. Upon the discovery of his gambling addiction and his crime, he was prosecuted in Canada by Crown Attorney Peter DeJulio. Molony was defended by
Edward Greenspan Edward Leonard Greenspan, (February 28, 1944December 24, 2014) was one of Canada's most famous defence lawyers, and a prolific author of legal volumes. His fame was owed to numerous high-profile clients and to his national exposure on the Canadia ...
. He received a sentence of six years imprisonment, as sought by the Crown. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce took court action to recover funds from casinos in Atlantic City that enabled Malony's gambling addiction. The case was settled for an undisclosed sum.


Reception


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has a score of 79% based on reviews from 96 critics, with an average rating of 6.99/10. On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
the film has a score of 70% based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
named ''Owning Mahowny'' one of the top ten films of 2003, and assessed Hoffman's performance as "a masterpiece of discipline and precision", calling him a "fearless poet of implosion, hoplays the role with a fierce integrity, never sending out signals for our sympathy because he knows that Mahowny is oblivious to our presence." However, some critics believed that in his self-effacing performance, Hoffman refused to conform to expectations of a typical movie character and that the movie suffered as a result.
Stephanie Zacharek Stephanie Zacharek is an American film critic at ''Time'', based in New York City. From 2013 to 2015, she was the principal film critic for ''The Village Voice''. She was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism. Early life Stephanie Zachare ...
considered him to be a "character who squirms right out of our grasp", and despite being the movie's anchor, he's "such a vaporous one, he leaves ''us'' feeling adrift". Asked whether Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal matched with the real Brian Molony, journalist Gary Ross replied, "Remarkably so. They have the same stocky build, bushy moustache, glasses, slightly unkempt look, and earnestness. And Philip somehow managed to assimilate the psychic essence of Molony — a yawning emptiness that nothing except gambling was able to fill." ''Owning Mahowny'' earned $1 million, significantly less than its $10 million budget.


Awards

''Owning Mahowny'' received nominations for Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Screenplay (Adapted) and Best Achievement in Music — Original Score (Richard Grassby-Lewis,
Jon Hassell Jon Hassell (March 22, 1937 – June 26, 2021) was an American trumpet player and composer. He was best known for developing the concept of "Fourth World" music, which describes a "unified primitive/futurist sound" combining elements of various w ...
) at the 24th Genie Awards.


References


External links


Official website
* * * {{Mojo title, owningmahowny
Reel Toronto: ''Owning Mahowny''
filming locations detailed in
The Torontoist ''Daily Hive'', formerly known as ''Vancity Buzz'', is a Canadian online newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It began digital publishing in 2008 and became Western Canada's largest online-only publication by 2016. In September 2022 ...
, December 8, 2009 2003 films 2000s crime films British drama films Canadian drama films 2000s business films English-language Canadian films Films based on biographies Films directed by Richard Kwietniowski 2003 independent films Films set in Atlantic City, New Jersey Films set in Toronto Films shot in Toronto Films shot in Atlantic City, New Jersey Gambling films Sony Pictures Classics films Trading films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films 2000s British films