Owning Mahowny

2003
R
1h 44m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

15K

YOUR RATING

Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and John Hurt in Owning Mahowny (2003)

Theatrical Trailer from Sony Pictures Classics

Play trailer1:53

7 Videos

13 Photos

True Crime Crime Drama Thriller

A bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multimillion dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian hist... Read allA bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multimillion dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.A bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multimillion dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.

Director
- Richard Kwietniowski
Writers
- Gary Stephen Ross
- Maurice Chauvet
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

15K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Richard Kwietniowski
Writers
- Gary Stephen Ross
- Maurice Chauvet
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 5 nominations

Videos7

Trailer 2:00

Owning Mahowny

Clip 2:55

Owning Mahowny Scene: I'm Having A Bad Run

Clip 2:28

Owning Mahowny Scene: One Good Weekend

Clip 2:26

Owning Mahowny Scene: A New Room Key

Clip 3:11

Owning Mahowny Scene: He's Bust The Table

Photos13

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The real person, on which the character of Dan Mahowny is based, is now a consultant for a company that investigates fraud.

Goofs
In the scenes where several yellow Metro Toronto Police cars appear together, at least three different shades of yellow paint are visible. (The police changed to white and blue cars a few years after the period of the movie because the yellow paint they'd been using was withdrawn; presumably the filmmakers could not find enough cars of the right shade.)

Quotes
Psychologist: How would you rate the thrill you got from gambling, on a scale of one to 100?
Dan Mahowny: Um... hundred.
Psychologist: And what about the biggest thrill you've ever had outside of gambling?
Dan Mahowny: Twenty.
Psychologist: Twenty. How do you feel about living the rest of your life with a max of twenty?
Dan Mahowny: Ok. Twenty's ok.

Crazy credits
At the end of the closing credits you'll see the strongroom door from the start again and hear the sound of the ball in a roulette wheel. Rien ne vas plus.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 2003 (2004)

User reviews95

Review

Featured review

8/10

The True Story on Gambling Obsession

Canadian movies- especially those made with taxpayers' dollars- have always bored me. But "Owning Mahowny" broke the mold, and is a mesmerizing exception to the rule. I am amazed this film did not meet with more popular success, given the critical acclaim it received.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of the bland and somewhat shabby banker who embezzled 10 million to support his gambling addiction is spot on. I can say this with some authority since I knew "Mahowny" personally back in high school, where his predilection for the racetrack and for fleecing junior students at cards was legendary. The seedy clothes, the clunker car, and the repressed demeanor all ring true. Kudos to Hoffman for a riveting performance.

Gambling movies (The Cincinnati Kid, The Hustler) have by and large ignored the addiction angle. This film delivers- in spades.