Review of Owning Mahowny (2003) by Robyn N — 03 Feb 2014

Dan Mahowny knows he's good at his job, just not at his life. "Owning Mahowny" is a fascinating fact-based portrait of gambling addict Dan Mahowny, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is a Canadian bank manager who financed his addiction in the early 1980s through embezzlement. He created phantom loan accounts and juggled figures, keeping his scam alive for two years -- and to the tune of $10 million. What transcends and carries this true story of the largest bank fraud case in Canadian history is the phenomenal central performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The main focus of the screenplay is Mahowny's obsession and compulsion and its devastating effects professionally and personally. Mahowny is emotionally sealed off, a man with no interests and no pleasures, a kind of dead soul who needs to gamble to feel truly alive. "Mahowny" is not a feel-good story about one man's ability to overcome addiction. Instead, it illustrates a deepening spiral of compulsive behavior, his withdrawal from society, and the unyielding power of denial. The story has some tense moments, but ultimately it's Hoffman's ability to reveal to us that beneath his all consuming addiction lies a decent, desperate soul.