Win Win - 4 smiles

For writer/director Tom McCarthy, family is important and it’s not always family in its strictest definition. McCarthy likes to throw his characters together knowing that, although they might jostle each other, they also need each other. And in the process, McCarthy explores the choices people make and the consequences they must live with. Struggling with a failing legal practice and mounting debt, Mike (Giamatti) devises an ethically questionable plan to take on the legal guardianship of an elderly client, Leo (Burt Young), in the early stages of dementia. Rather than take care of Leo on a daily basis, Mike puts him in a nursing facility and pockets the $1508 stipend every month. It’s a win-win, he figures. Leo gets better care and his family can use the extra money. Then Mike meets Leo’s runaway grandson, the introverted Kyle (Alex Shaffer) and, as the local high school wrestling coach, encourages the boy’s natural wrestling talents. Despite some trouble with the law, Kyle, whose junkie mother (Melanie Lynskey) has all but abandoned him, is really just a lost soul. Gradually, Kyle develops a bond with Mike and his family, but problems erupt when Kyle’s mother returns.

Paul Giamatti is excellent as he conveys every facet of Mike’s complex character, with those bug eyes, hunched shoulders and constant sense of impending doom. You want him to win even though you know he’s crossed the line morally and ethically. Bobby Cannavale is wonderful as Mike’s flamboyant best friend who offers to help with the coaching duties. Effective, too, is Amy Ryan as Mike’s no-nonsense wife. And McCarthy was right to pick a real high school wrestler as Kyle. Shaffer, who was the 120-pound New Jersey state wrestling champ when filming began, is convincing as the taciturn Kyle. McCarthy has a real knack for creating beautifully fleshed-out characters, full of humor and believable flaws. “Win Win” is well acted, expertly directed and laugh-out loud funny. 3/25/11.