Win Win

Win Win (2011) – Movie Review

Director: Thomas McCarthy
Screenwriter: Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
Producers: Lisa Marie Falcone, Michael London, Mary-Jane Skalski, Lori Keith Douglas (E.P.), Tom Heller (E.P.), Jaqueline Brogan, Erica Tuchman (associate)
Studio: Fox Searchlight 
Production Companies: Everest Entertainment, Groundswell Productions, Next Wednesday Productions
Top Billed Cast: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young, Melanie Lynskey, Alex Shaffer, Margo Martindale

LOGLINE: A struggling Lawyer/Husband/Father/Wrestling Coach on the verge of a nervous breakdown is forced to look after a 15yo boy with a dark past who happens to be a fantastic wrestler. But the boy will teach the man more than just wrestling.


VIEWING CIRCUMSTANCES: At the Flicks (Dendy, Canberra Centre), with a group of filmmakers from SCREENACT, the local office of Film and Television. Monica Penders (The Secret of Moonacre), the SCREENACT manager, is friends with one of the Win Win Producers, Mary-Jane Skalski, and had organised a Skype lecture with Mary for Producer Pod, one of the courses they ran recently, and so a bunch of us from the course decided to all go and see it together, in fact they put on a special screening just for us, but it worked out OK for them as they ended up selling a lot of tickets to regular (not from our group) punters. But that didn't stop us from cheering at Mary's name in the opening credits.



*full disclosure - I have since had a few correspondences with Mary, who is uber-lovely, and we are now Facebook 'friends' but I don't think it has influenced my rating or review of the film, but I do note it is unusually high for this type of film, so maybe it has... who knows?


FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Great film, one of my favourite of 2011 so far. Only two films this year have made me laugh and cry this and The Help. And please don't tell anyone I said that I cried in a film, I have a reputation to maintain...


STORY: Wonderful story, very real, very believable. Tomas McCarthy is really coming into his own.


PRODUCTION: There are no car chases or explosions, and the cinematography isn't particularly beautiful or special, but I don't know if that would serve a film like this. I think the understated production adds to the feel of the understated, ordinary lives of the characters.


PERFORMANCE: Great. The kid, Alex Shaffer, is star! Giamatti is excellent as always, plays a similar character that we've seen before, (the down and out guy) in such films as Duets and of course Sideways. Bobby Cannavale does great to play the comic relief subtlety.


OVERALL: A great surprise. Go see it.


MEETSLINE: The Wrestler meets Sideways.

FAVOURITE QUOTE: none.

RECOMMENDED ACCOMPANIMENT: Pancakes with Syrup & A Glass of Milk.

RATING: 

4 1/2 out of 5 reels of film.

Movie Review by A.B. Mcblogsmith the Backwards Cap Film Reviewer

(C) Review Flix 2011