OWNING MAHONEY – The DVD Review

Review by Sam Moffitt

I was as shocked and saddened as anyone at hearing of the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Not that long ago I wrote a review of Jack Goes Boating for We Are Movie Geeks, directed by Hoffman and starring him in an amazing performance. I’m glad I did that as I had no way of knowing Hoffman wouldn’t be with us much longer. I cannot comment on the problems he had with addictions. I had my own substance issues for years. I never lost a job or stole anything to support any habit and I never had to go into rehab, I simply quit using anything. Two cups of coffee is about as wild as I get these days.

Of course the Hollywood haters came out on the internet and in newspaper letter columns slamming Hoffman and the entire Hollywood lifestyle. Again, I can’t make any comment about that, such people obviously don’t understand addictions, how hard they can be to break and get clear of. The hardest addiction I had to overcome was tobacco, a legal substance.

So how ironic that Hoffman gave an incredible performance in a movie about a real life addict. Owning Mahoney is based on the real life story of Dan Mahoney who skimmed the largest amount of money in outright bank fraud in Canadian history. Mahoney was a golden boy at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.

Mahoney was well liked by his co-workers, by the bank customers and his friends and family. He is loved by his girlfriend, played by Minnie Driver (a whole other issue, were I involved with Minnie Driver I doubt I would be interested in much else, but I digress….)

Nobody knows what Mahoney is up to except his bookie played by Maury Chaykin. Mahoney gets so out of control his bookie won’t take his bets anymore. Consider that for a moment! To stay in the game he starts skimming from his bank, a little at first then a lot, a whole lot. Before he is done he will take over 10 Million dollars, (Canadian) to Atlantic City and Vegas and, mostly, lose it.

Twice Mahoney wins enough to pay back all that he has taken and have some left over, but no, like all gamblers the House is depending on Mahoney to keep betting and lose it all back. And he does, boy does he lose it!

There are a lot of great movies about gamblers. Just off the top of memory; The Hustler, California Split, The Gambler, Things Change, Bob le Flambeur, The Cooler. Many movies have great scenes of gambling; Rain Man, Going in Style, Household Saints, all the Bond movies. I have never seen a movie get so down to the nuts and bolts of gambling, what gamblers do and how they do it, what the house does when they realize they have a first class high roller with Mahoney and they plan to make a fortune off him, never mind where his money comes from. And most especially the effect a gambling addict has on those around him.

And here is where Hoffman’s pure genius takes us to places we never wanted to go. Most actors would try something to get us on Mahoney’s side, most actors would give away something that is happening in Mahoney’s head. Not Hoffman.

When Mahoney is with his co-workers and bank customers he is cordial, polite, friendly. He seems to love his girl friend but when he takes her to Vegas he leaves her alone in the suite (a comp suite so luxurious she assumes they are getting married) in order to gamble. When this poor lady goes to the casino to try and get him away from the gaming tables he doesn’t even look up, making the bet is everything to Dan Mahoney.

And again, this is Minnie Driver he is ignoring in order to place bets!

All of Mahoney’s affability and likeability is an act, a performance put on for those around him so he can get to the serious business of taking other people’s money to big casinos and gamble it away. When he is gambling he is a blank slate, a tabula rasa if you will, who gives away no emotion what so ever, to us, the camera or his fellow actors. The term “poker face” is taken to a whole new level. At one point the casino run by John Hurt (in a terrific performance) sends a comp hooker to visit Mahoney. The working girl tells her boss that “lady luck is the only woman he is interested in.”

This is a risky thing for any actor to do, Hoffman pulls it off beautifully. We still feel terrible for Mahoney, especially when he could put the money back, (twice!) keep some and get on with his life. No, with a gambling addict the bet is everything, it’s all about the risk and the high of placing yet another bet.

I have to admit gambling is one of those things I never “got.” Seriously, I don’t get it, along with a whole lot of other activities my fellow human beings indulge in. For instance I have never figured out how craps is played (Officer Earl Berry Jr. offered to show me but I never took him up on it.) I mean, I know you place bets on what number will come up on the dice, but how? Where do you put the bet on the crap table? If I did go to Biloxi or Atlantic City or the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa I’m afraid I would look foolish asking how the game is played. And quite frankly I feel foolish enough on a regular basis now!

I can still recall when Omar Sharif made a visit to David Letterman’s show, the old show on NBC. He talked of his gambling addiction and how hard it was to beat. He also said that no game is played in any casino where the odds are not on the side of the house. If a game exists where the odds are in favor of the player, it is not played in any casino.

That statement and the human wreckage on display in Owning Mahoney is more than enough to make me glad I never caught the gambling bug.
Oh, and Mahoney gets caught, of course. We are told at the end that he is barred from placing a bet anywhere in Canada or the USA and that he has to repay the 10 million. I wonder where he is at with that ?

So this is my farewell to Philip Seymour Hoffman. I never saw him give anything less than 100% or better in any part he chose to play. So light a candle and say a prayer for Mr. Hoffman and pick your own personal Philip Seymour Hoffman performance, Synedoche, New York , The Savages, Boogie Nights, Talented Mr. Ripley, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, after all there are so many to choose from.

Rest in Peace, Philip Seymour Hoffman, we hardly got to know you.