Cinema 2011 #52: WinWin

Thomas McCarthy is his name. You didn’t know this. Don’t feel too bad though, I didn’t either. And I’m just a try-hard with the IMDb app. You don’t know his name because Thomas McCarthy belongs to that rare genus of Hollywood actors, the “that guy, who’s in loads of things, you know him, with the glasses, and the hair. You know him, honestly.” And trust me, when I say you do know him, because his everyman qualities have been right there, on display for all to see, in such diverse fare as Meet the Parents, Good Night… and Good Luck, Syriana, Baby Mama and 2012. Ringing any bells? Probably not, but campanology generally occurs when people learn of his role as dodgy journalist Scott Templeton in the final season of HBO’s The Wire. Yeah, that guy. Ironically, however, despite the failure of his name to register with his on screen skills, McCarthy has been making quite the name for himself behind it.

He's that guy!

There’s his Academy Award nomination for his script to Pixar’s tearjerker Up. Not to mention his 2003 BAFTA for the screenplay to his directorial debut, The Station Agent. His follow up, The Visitor, nabbed an acting nomination from Oscar for Richard (another “that guy, you know him”) Jenkins in 2007, and along with new movie WinWin, his trinity of indie darlings has been earning bracketed stamps for promotional posters from film festivals in every corner of the globe.

Which is why it’s a shame that WinWin just didn’t  win me over.

The film takes place in the beautiful bubble of indie America, where everyday looks like autumn and sounds like a band you’ve never heard of. It tells the story of struggling Paul Giamatti’s New Jersey lawyer Mike Flaherty. His practice is suffering from the strains of economic fatigue, and while keeping his wife Amy Ryan in the dark, Mike works out his frustration training the local longshot high school wrestling team. When he makes a rather dubious decision to pocket some much needed cash, he ends up having to care for Kyle, a monosyllabic delinquent, who charms the family with his thawing heart and prodigious talent on the wrestling mat. Just as happiness and success seem possible, trouble comes in the form of Kyle’s wayward mother, who wants him back, and the money to boot.

WinWin is a solid indie, with a very likeable cast. Paul Giamatti can do this sort of put upon world-weariness in his sleep, and newcomer Alex Shaffer speaks volumes as the terse Kyle. A former state champion wrestler, he handles the physical side perfectly, making the wrestling scenes fluid and energetic. Amy Ryan sparkles as Jackie, and their cute cursing daughter does the Ronseal job.

The problem with WinWin is just how neat everything feels, with every problem met by an almost immediate solution that just presents itself. Certainly, there is drama to be mined from the very questionable moral choices made by Mike, but McCarthy’s script sidesteps them, preferring to soak up the Kodak glow of Americans playing happy, if broken, families. And if Mike doesn’t seem to be worrying about them, why should you?

A good film, but more so-so than WinWin.

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