DENVER, April 5, 2011 - Tom McCarthy doesn't get the press other directorial wunderkinds like Darren Aronofsky, Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola receive. McCarthy simply goes out and delivers one indie gem after another, while his peers produce the occasional flop.
"Win Win" makes McCarthy, who also has a thriving career as a character actor, three-for-three behind the director's chair on the heels of "The Station Agent" and "The Visitor." His latest feature, the story of a bedraggled lawyer who teams up with a teen runaway, boasts all the charm of an indie feature. It's smart, impeccably acted and doesn't march to the drum of the standard underdog story. But it's a crowd pleaser, all the same, one which could spell an end to McCarthy's days directing under the radar.
Alex Shaffer stars in the film Win Win
Paul Giamatti stars as Mike Flaherty, a rumpled attorney and part time wrestling coach having trouble making ends meet. When an elderly client named Leo (Burt Young) is about to be institutionalized, he offers to serve as the man's guardian.
It's not a noble gesture.
Mike will get his hands on the old man's monthly pension by keeping tabs on his housing status.
Leo, suffering from the early stages of dementia, would rather stay in his own home. Mike tricks him into a nursing home instead, where he's easier to observe.
Mike's financial troubles are solved, but the move sets off a chain reaction in his otherwise staid life. Leo's grandson, a teen named Kyle (Alex Shaffer), comes to check in on Leo. As movie luck would have it, Kyle is a gifted wrestler, and Mike arranges for him to join his struggling squad.
The two bond over wrestling, but Kyle also works his way into Mike's family. The teen's emotional baggage, and some dangling family ties, may end up being Mike's undoing.
McCarthy's new film is often hilarious, but don't expect any manufactured set pieces or gags that mark inferior comic efforts. He builds the humor layer-atop-layer, from Mike's coaching partner (a gem of a performance by Bobby Cannavale) to the clunking heater that distracts everyone in Mike's office.
It's those quiet touches that make "Win Win" work, especially how McCarthy captures the rhythms of Mike's marriage to Jackie (Amy Ryan). Giamatti and Ryan were born to play husband and wife on screen, and watching Jackie react to Mike's indiscretions gives the film's second half a dramatic jolt.
Shaffer, in his first screen performance, nails the indifference many teens exhibit. But it's clear he's hurting from growing up in a damaged family.
"Win Win" is shrewdly observed, occasionally hilarious, and brimming with pinpoint performances. McCarthy may pack in one-too-many coincidences, but by steering clear of a pat, "Rocky" style resolution, he's more than forgiven.
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