To some it's a game. To others it's a habit. But to Dan Mahowny - beating the odds is everything.
Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At 24 he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Dan Mahowny - the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in 18 months to feed his gambling obsession.
Based on a true story.
Special Agent Matti
What is it with Canadians ripping off Yanks?
In Shattered glass Hayden Christensen goes the big plagiarism to make his way in the big wide world. In Owning Mahowny Dan Mahowny takes the USA casinos for a big ride. Woo hoo!
The downside of Owning Mahowny is that Dan works in a bank. People who work in banks don't make for exciting movie characters. Sure, they can commit fraud to support their gambling addiction, but watching a teller filling out a withdrawal slip is hardly high drama. Gary Stephen Ross, Maurice Chauvet and Richard Kwietniowski do their best to make everything thrilling but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal is downplayed, as you would expect from someone acting like a desk jockey, and it doesn't help any.
The upside is that the production values are so-o-o retro that you want to scream. Minnie Driver's hair is worth erasing the 80s all by itself. I laughed, even though I wasn't supposed to (Owning Mahowny is a period biography so the mise en scène has to be accurate).
*Shudders*
M (Low level coarse language, adult themes)
105 minutes (1:45 hours)
Film: 1 July 2004