Win Win
A new Film from Writer Director Thomas McCarthy titled Win Win hits theatres in the Seattle area this Friday. In it, Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), is a family law attorney and high school wrestling coach struggling to keep his family fed. To make some extra cash on the side Mike becomes a legal guardian for a senile client in order to receive a monthly stipend, an unethical decision that gets considerably more complex when his client’s 17 year old deviant grandson shows up looking for a place to live. As it turns out though, the grandson, Kyle (Alex Shaffer) happens to be a state champion wrestler– which is true on screen and in real life; and, his arrival could be a good thing in several ways. But, complicating matters more, just when everything looks like a perfect situation, Kyle’s estranged addict mother shows up to claim guardianship of not only him but also her father, Kyle’s grandfather. Now it’s up to Mike and his wife Jackie (Amy Ryan) to make the case for Kyle to stay and send his troubled mother packing back to Ohio.
It’s a 3 dimensional story with characters that feel genuine and believable, a challenge and goal for writer/director Thomas McCarthy , who’s also known for films such as The Station Agent and The Visitor which have similarly believable characters. The story feels particularly believable and poignant since we’re already familiar with the film the Blind Side, the true story of NFL star Michael Oher, the major difference being that in the Blind Side we’re dealing with a very well to do family, in the case of Win Win, we’re indeed looking at a middle class family, which on its own is fodder for plenty of situational comedy. Well thought out in its construction and top notch in its acting we see each of the characters arcs as a learning experience. Worth your time and attention, Win Win is rated R.