Movies: "Win Win" and "Source Code"

Tom McCarthy's "Win Win" is like three movies in one, all of them very good. Well-written, directed and acted, "Win Win" adds up to a very of-the-moment story of real people struggling with real problems. It's both heart-warming and legitimately funny.

The protagonist is a lawyer and there are several scenes involving high school wrestling, but "Win Win" isn't really a lawyer movie or a sports movie. The pitch sounds a lot like "The Blind Side"- stable nuclear family takes in a high school kid from a troubled background who has surprising athletic talent- except the Michael Oher figure is much whiter and skinnier, and the movie ends far away from the NFL Draft.

McCarthy, a character actor who was on "The Wire" and has appeared in small parts in numerous films (such as "Dr. Bob" in "Meet the Parents"), has embarked on an even more successful second career as a super-respected indie movie writer/director. His "The Station Agent" from 2003 was very good, and the follow-up, "The Visitor" with Richard Jenkins, was even better. Here he makes it three-for-three.

The movie is set in New Providence, N.J., the director's hometown, and the film has a malaise about it that's particularly familiar if you've been to that part of New Jersey. Paul Giamatti stars as Michael Flaherty, a struggling lawyer who mostly represents infirm older people. Married to Amy Ryan and raising two small children, Michael moonlights as an assistant high school wrestling coach (under head coach Jeffrey Tambor), but still faces money woes.

Representing a wealthy, elderly client (Burt Young from "Rocky"), Michael realizes that he can collect a monthly stipend from the state by pretending to be the man's guardian while depositing him in a nursing home. Things get complicated when the man's teenaged grandson (newcomer Alex Shaffer) shows up in town. And turns out to be a talented amateur wrestler. And his long-lost junkie mother (Melanie Lynskey) shows up too, leading to much third-act conflict over the custody of both the teenager and the older man.

Sure, the plot sounds melodramatic, but "Win Win" is more about its characters than its plot, and on that level it's a total success. The superb cast is led by Giamatti, who's been in some not-so-great movies lately, but knocks it out of the park here. I believed for every minute of the movie that he was a New Jersey schlub, an imperfect but basically decent man trying to do the best he could for his family. Amy Ryan also continues a recent run of standout roles and Shaffer, as the kid, nails it as well.

Bobby Cannavale plays Giamatti's friend, a guy cracking up after his wife kicked him out, and all but walks off with the movie. It's the rare comic relief character who's actually funny, and worth being in the movie despite having almost nothing to do with the plot. There's also a hilarious young actor named David Thompson, playing a kid on the wrestling team, who looks like he stepped out of a time machine from the '70s.

The only real misfire in the casting is Lynskey; I love her, but I didn't believe for a second that she was a recently reformed drug addict.

With so many filmmakers out there who have no idea whatsoever how to direct a movie, it's good to know that Tom McCarthy absolutely does, and has now done so, very well, three times.

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Also playing: "Source Code"

The new thriller "Source Code" is the rare movie that borrows elements from dozens of other films and TV shows, but is so good on its own that it almost doesn't matter. The movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan, feels fresh and original anyway, buoyed by a standout script from Ben Ripley and ace direction from "Moon"'s Duncan Jones.

"Source Code" borrows bits of many, many movies and TV shows: "Groundhog Day" and "12 Monkeys" primarily, but also including parts of "Quantum Leap," "Speed," "Avatar," and several different specific "Lost" episodes. Concerning a soldier (Gyllenhaal) sent repeatedly back into the body of a train passenger to investigate a bomb plot, the movie is an action movie, a thriller, a romance, and much else- and it works on just about every level.

The only place where it steps wrongly is an ending that feels like a cheat. Until then, it's a magnificent piece of storytelling from a major, rising filmmaker.

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The Silver Screen Rating - "Win Win":  4 stars (out of 5)

The Silver Screen Rating - "Source Code":  4.5 stars (out of 5)

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Roll Credits: "Win Win"

Directed by: Tom McCarthy

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Alex Shaffer, Bobby Cannivale, Jeffrey Tambor, Melanie Lynskey

Rated: R

Length:1 hour 46 min.

Appearing at: 

Ritz 5 Movies

220 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

12:10  2:40  3:30  5:10  7:40  8:45  10:00pm

Roll Credits: "Source Code"
 

Directed by: Duncan Jones

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Jeffrey Wright, Vera Farmiga,

Rated: R

Length: 1 hour 33 min.

Appearing at:

Carmike Coventry 8

650 West Schuykill Road, Pottstown, PA

1:20  4:20  7:20  9:40pm

Regal Marketplace 24

180 Mill Road, Oaks, PA

12:50  2:40  3:10  5:00  5:30  7:20  7:50  9:40  10:10pm

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