Owning Mahowny

Dan Mahowny appears to colleagues as a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, climbing the ladder in Toronto's financial district. He's seen as diligent, decisive, and helpful, a man who keeps his private life discreet. To his friends he's quiet yet witty, and to his girlfriend he comes across as shy but charming. But behind the polished exterior lies a dangerous addiction: a compulsive gambler who funds his habit through his access to company resources. The story follows his carefully kept double life as it gradually strains the loyalties around him, pulls him into increasingly risky territory, and forces him to face the consequences of a choice between duty and desire. The tension grows through restrained dialogue and precise pacing, with Toronto's skyline and closed doors serving as the stage for a private crisis that tests loyalty and restraint.

Directed by Richard Kwietniowski, the film adapts the true life case chronicled by Maurice Chauvet and Gary Stephen Ross. With a budget of 10 million, it premiered on the festival circuit in 2003 before receiving a selective general release.

Box office: Worldwide gross of about 1,271,244 dollars. The modest earnings reflect the film's restrained release strategy and limited marketing push, plus its appeal to a narrower audience interested in psychological crime dramas rather than mass entertainment.

Hoffman delivers a controlled, precise performance that anchors the film and elevates a story about crime into a tightly focused character study. The movie is praised for treating financial wrongdoing as a human problem, not just a puzzle, influencing later expansions of white collar drama.

Critics generally praised the film for its quiet pacing, moral nuance, and focus on the psychology of addiction rather than sensationalism. It raises questions about temptation, responsibility, and the cost of living with secrecy, while portraying the toll such obsessions take on relationships and trust.