Songbird
Feb
2
Rewind #1: Owning Mahony
Filed Under Film Box | 3 Comments
Hey folks, Pip here. I wanted to start up a series that visited films long since passed into the realm of DVD, but perhaps were missed by a great majority of people. We thought this would be good since sometimes I miss a film and need to tell people about it if it’s particularly worthy, as is the case with this one.
P.S.H., as in all of his films, completely transforms himself into the character and lives it. That said, it’s actually very painful watching Mahony do what he does. He is a loan officer with a Canadian bank that happens to have an extreme gambling addiction. He has the knowledge and the wherewithal to fuel it into an out of control spiral. I would equate watching this film to similar addiction films, a la Requiem for a Dream. It’s not the same millieu, but it feels almost as graphic only in a much different sense. It’s really hard to describe to tell you the truth.
The characters around P.S.H. are just as fleshed out and well acted. You have Minnie Driver playing his loving girlfriend, only she hardly plays the damsel in distress, nor his enabler. I found that very refreshing. You feel sorry for her because she loves him and wants to stand by him, but she’ll kick his ass before she sits and watches him burn in flames. John Hurt is always amazing and seems to have a long term working relationship with the director, Richard Kwietniowski.
This is based on a true story and adapted from a book detailing the case. In the end he defrauds the bank for an incredible amount of money, especially considering inflation adjusted for early 80’s dollars. Hoffman plays Mahony in such a heartbreakingly true way that I could barely watch. I wonder if he emulated the real man? Kwietniowski’s hand is amazing and I plan on catching up on the rest of his work. One doesn’t spew out a masterpiece like this without the history to back it up in most cases. Owning Mahony is probably difficult to find in a local rental store, but online it’s no problem to rent or buy. I would highly suggest it for an evening relaxed, hefty drama mixed in with yet another brilliant performance by my main man Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
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