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A 'Win Win' Dramedy in Jersey, Plus: 'Source Code' a Thrilling Ride

This week Patch movie reviewer Stephen Silver offers two reviews in 'Win Win' and 'Source Code.'

Win Win Review

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 and 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, NJ, 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.

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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 min‎‎utes

Appearing at: Ritz 5 Movies

 
 
Roll Credits: Source Code

Directed by: Duncan Jones

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

Rated: R

Length: 1 hour 33 minutes

Appearing at: Regal Warrington Crossing 22

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