Owning Mahowny (2003)

This film was so boring that I almost resent having watched it.

Every person in the film seems to be in a constant state of depression -- Philip Seymour Hoffman as the title character foremost among them. Alright, he embezzles to gamble, but while he's gambling he looks agitated & constipated -- as though he's performing a distasteful task he's being forced to complete.

At the end of the film he is asked to, on a scale of 1 to 100, rate the "thrill" gambling gave him. I swear that, in the seconds before he answered, I knew he was going to say a number like "2" -- that he didn't enjoy it...it was just something to which he was addicted and couldn't break free. Imagine my surprise when he blurts out "100." Uh, OK. Why didn't you ever smile, then? Why was there never a spring in your step when entering a casino? Poor guy -- if he ever actually experienced an actual "100" thrill moment, his heart would probably burst from surprise.

D-