The movie ("based" on a true story - how much of it is real, and how much is invented?) portrays the descent of Dan Mahoney, an obsessive gambler who, like all of us, has "a public life, a private life, and a secret life".
Dan's public life is that of a mid-level account manager at a Toronto bank, which gives him access to money he skims and shuffles around from his clients, in order to feed his gambling habit. In his private life, he is dating a rather simple-minded fellow bank employee. And in his secret life, Dan jets off to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, wagering and eventually always losing millions of dollars. His addiction is such that his secret life eventually subsumes his other lives, although (according to the epilogue) not fatally.
One of the problems with this movie is the persona of Dan Mahoney. Evidently, remaining true to the original, Dan is an introverted, uncommunicative, shy, tradition-oriented Canadian of reserved British nature. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a very good performance as Dan, conveying his emotion in a very subtle, controlled manner. However, it does not create much opportunity for exploring Dan's inner thoughts and motivations - these must be surmised by the viewer. Additionally, the director chose to tell Dan's story in a very straightforward manner, rather than employing some of the more powerful tools of cinema (symbolism, flashbacks, alternative viewpoints, etc.). Yes, there is a scene of Dan witnessing a high-roller that is later repeated, this time with Dan as the high roller, and at another point Dan thinks he sees himself watching him gamble, but for the most part the film proceeds in a documentary-like fashion.
The best performance is delivered by John Hurt, as a Satan-like Atlantic City casino boss. However, Minnie Driver's character of Belinda, Dan's girlfriend, is one-dimensional and is never developed.
The film does trigger thoughts about the nature of addiction (from both sides, the addict and the enabler), as well as what people do when they are in a situation well over their heads. In the case of someone like Dan Mahoney, they just cannot stop. Hopefully, this will inspire the rest of us to exercise more self-control, before the police are forced to act.
Dan's public life is that of a mid-level account manager at a Toronto bank, which gives him access to money he skims and shuffles around from his clients, in order to feed his gambling habit. In his private life, he is dating a rather simple-minded fellow bank employee. And in his secret life, Dan jets off to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, wagering and eventually always losing millions of dollars. His addiction is such that his secret life eventually subsumes his other lives, although (according to the epilogue) not fatally.
One of the problems with this movie is the persona of Dan Mahoney. Evidently, remaining true to the original, Dan is an introverted, uncommunicative, shy, tradition-oriented Canadian of reserved British nature. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives a very good performance as Dan, conveying his emotion in a very subtle, controlled manner. However, it does not create much opportunity for exploring Dan's inner thoughts and motivations - these must be surmised by the viewer. Additionally, the director chose to tell Dan's story in a very straightforward manner, rather than employing some of the more powerful tools of cinema (symbolism, flashbacks, alternative viewpoints, etc.). Yes, there is a scene of Dan witnessing a high-roller that is later repeated, this time with Dan as the high roller, and at another point Dan thinks he sees himself watching him gamble, but for the most part the film proceeds in a documentary-like fashion.
The best performance is delivered by John Hurt, as a Satan-like Atlantic City casino boss. However, Minnie Driver's character of Belinda, Dan's girlfriend, is one-dimensional and is never developed.
The film does trigger thoughts about the nature of addiction (from both sides, the addict and the enabler), as well as what people do when they are in a situation well over their heads. In the case of someone like Dan Mahoney, they just cannot stop. Hopefully, this will inspire the rest of us to exercise more self-control, before the police are forced to act.