Owning Mahowny
Owning Mahowny Image
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Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Starring: John Hurt, Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman
  • Summary: Polite, mild-mannered Dan Mahowny (Hoffman) is an assistant bank manager with a head for numbers, a knack for making decisions, and a devastating appetite for gambling. Dan Mahowny is the unlikely hero who takes on two of the financial institutions everyone loves to hate, the bank and the casino, and, for a brief while, he wins. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    There have been many good movies about gambling, but never one that so single-mindedly shows the gambler at his task.
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    80
    As channeled by the extraordinary Hoffman, Dan Mahowny is less a freak than a nerve-deadened Everyman with the courage to search for something that makes him feel alive.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: John Powers
    80
    Atlantic City casino boss played with pointedly corrupt amusement by John Hurt, doesn't merely oversee hell but gets a real kick out of the damned.
  4. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    60
    Just doesn't give us enough to hold onto, perhaps partly because it's executed with so much restraint and subtlety. It's often a tense, uncomfortable little movie.

See all 29 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. txrangersfan72
    10
    Philip Seymour Hoffman and Minnie Driver give painfully depressing, but outstanding, performances in this gritty film based on a true story of a banking executive, responsible and reliable in every way...except for a debilitating gambling problem. Dan Mahowny (Hoffman) uses his clout and trust to manipulate the system to keep his addiction going. The movie is hard to watch as the situations are very tense. The performances and direction are superb, though, engaging the viewer in the first few minutes of the opening scene.… Expand
  2. JoanC.
    9
    I thought this was a thought provoking insight into the world of a gambling addict. Excellent acting by Hoffmann. Is Mahowny good or bad? Does he have an illness(addiction) or is he just greedy? Does he have a conscience? You tell me. A truly great movie. I was 'hooked' from beginning to end, but then again, I DO have an addictive personality.… Expand
  3. Nesbitt10
    8
    What transcends and carries this true story of the largest bank fraud case in Canadian history is the phenomenal central performance of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Dan Mahowny (Hoffman) is a bank manager with a serious gambling problem. With his position, he has access to a multi-million dollar account witch ultimately leads to him gambling $10 million dollars in a span of 18 months. The main focus of the screenplay is Mahowny's obsession and compulsion and it's devastating effects professionally and personally. It's Hoffman's ability to reveal to us that beneath his all consuming addiction lies a descent, desperate soul.… Expand

See all 7 User Reviews

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