This isn't the movie I was expecting. From the trailer and the fact that Philip Seymour Hoffman was playing the main character, I was expecting more of a comedy. But this is a pretty sad story about a banking executive in Toronto who steals money from his employer to feed his gambling binges.
Hoffman does an excellent job of portraying Dan Mahowny. He has the blank look and nervous demeanor of a problem gambler. He can't look people in the eye and is always making up excuses to his friends and fiance. What drives him to gamble isn't clear, but he's got it bad.
Minnie Driver plays his girlfriend, and frankly, I just don't like her acting style - it always seems like she's trying to imitate Cher. John Hurt is excellent as the casino manager in Atlantic City who caters to his whale while knowing inside that he's got Mahowny in the palm of his hand. He's both cynical and in a sort of sick way humorous.
There isn't a happy ending to this film, no miracle run of luck. You just see Mahowny getting in deeper and deeper. And having gambled myself, it's depressing to see someone play as stupidly as this guy did. There is no rhyme or reason to what he does, he just bets crazy and plows whatever winnings he has right back in.
The acting is good as far as the two leads, Hoffman and Hurt. The casino scenes are very fake, however - they could have done a better job of making it look real. I'm not sure what the moral of the story is, other than gambling isn't good for you, but it's an interesting character study nonetheless.
Hoffman does an excellent job of portraying Dan Mahowny. He has the blank look and nervous demeanor of a problem gambler. He can't look people in the eye and is always making up excuses to his friends and fiance. What drives him to gamble isn't clear, but he's got it bad.
Minnie Driver plays his girlfriend, and frankly, I just don't like her acting style - it always seems like she's trying to imitate Cher. John Hurt is excellent as the casino manager in Atlantic City who caters to his whale while knowing inside that he's got Mahowny in the palm of his hand. He's both cynical and in a sort of sick way humorous.
There isn't a happy ending to this film, no miracle run of luck. You just see Mahowny getting in deeper and deeper. And having gambled myself, it's depressing to see someone play as stupidly as this guy did. There is no rhyme or reason to what he does, he just bets crazy and plows whatever winnings he has right back in.
The acting is good as far as the two leads, Hoffman and Hurt. The casino scenes are very fake, however - they could have done a better job of making it look real. I'm not sure what the moral of the story is, other than gambling isn't good for you, but it's an interesting character study nonetheless.