Owning Mahowny
| Owning Mahowny | |
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Owning Mahowny film poster
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| Directed by | Richard Kwietniowski |
| Produced by | Andras Hamori Seaton McLean |
| Written by | Maurice Chauvet |
| Based on |
Stung: The Incredible Obsession of Brian Molony by Gary Stephen Ross |
| Starring |
Philip Seymour Hoffman John Hurt Minnie Driver Maury Chaykin |
| Music by |
The Insects Richard Grassby-Lewis |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Sony Pictures Classics (US) Alliance Atlantis (CAN) |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | Canada United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $1 million |
Owning Mahowny is a 2003 Canadian film about gambling addiction with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin and John Hurt. Based on the true story of a Toronto bank employee who embezzled more than $10 million to feed his gambling habit, Owning Mahowny was named one of the ten best films of the year by critic Roger Ebert.
In 1982, Toronto bank employee Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is given access to bigger and bigger accounts with his promotion to assistant branch manager. His boss trusts him, but is unaware that Mahowny is a compulsive gambler. Mahowny is soon skimming larger and larger amounts for his own use and making weekly trips to Atlantic City, where he is treated like a king by a greedy casino manager (John Hurt). Mahowny's girlfriend, fellow bank employee Belinda (Minnie Driver), can not understand what is happening. Mahowny's criminal acts come to light when Toronto police begin to investigate his longtime bookie (Maury Chaykin).
The movie's focus is on Mahowny as a character—how his compulsion drives him and all the domino effects it has on the rest of his life. The love story between Mahowny and Belinda and the inclusion of other finely drawn characters such as hapless casino employee Bernie (Chris Collins) put the emphasis squarely on the gambling addiction, not on the flash and sizzle of big casinos or multimillion-dollar frauds.
Owning Mahowny is based on a real-life incident: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce clerk Brian Molony embezzled over $10 million from his employers in just 18 months to support his gambling habit. Molony's story was told in the best-selling 1987 book Stung by journalist Gary Ross, which formed the basis for the screenplay.
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