
Owning Mahowny
2003, Drama, 1h 44m
97 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
This story of addiction may lack the typical flash and glamour, but Hoffman makes Mahowny compelling. Read critic reviews
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Owning Mahowny Photos
Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Dan Mahowny
Belinda
Frank Perlin
Victor Foss
Dana Selkirk
Detective Ben Lock
Critic Reviews for Owning Mahowny
Audience Reviews for Owning Mahowny
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Jun 06, 2014<i>-How would you rate the thrill you got from gambling on a scale of 1 to 100? -Um... A hundred. -What about the biggest thrill you've ever had outside of gambling? -Twenty.</i> Life can sometimes overcome fiction and its rules of probabilities as shown in the real-life-based film by Richard Kwietniowski about an unassuming bank employee whose areas of his personal life slowly begin to hit a new bottom when his ability to transfer funds in an out of the bank after a promotion and approving loans to non-existent clients meet his addiction: gambling. With a low-key execution, the story unfolds patiently, but with not the impact that could mirror the mathematical and even legal implications that this event suggests it had in real life. It also carries a strong message in the end, which is only suggested with the final dialogue quoted above, but not developed fully with that intensity of living at least five times less intensely outside the addiction. Nevertheless, the grand Seymour Hoffman knows how to stay with his troubled character, and John Hurt is terrific as the badass and calculating bastard casino manager. 58/100Edgar C Super Reviewer
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May 14, 2012hoffman creates a character who is trapped in a downward spiral of addicition. this is one interesting film that went unheard of. hoffman is criminally underrated and this role is proof of thatBrendan N Super Reviewer
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Feb 07, 2012A great movie on the drawbacks of gambling. Once again, Hoffman is putting together masterpieces away from the view of most of the general public. A shame.John B Super Reviewer
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Nov 29, 2011Straightforward but enthralling, "Owning Mahowny" is a rousing character study of incredible performances, most notably from Philip Seymour Hoffman as the titular character. Overall, the film doesn't feel like it's about gambling addiction as much as it is about one man's bad luck, but it has its moments.Stephen E Super Reviewer
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