A small, effective picture with heart.

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2013)

We live in an era that produces films not by standards of quality, but quantity. We have endless sequels and unspeakable remakes year after year. My God-- a remake of "Red Dawn"? Who was fighting for this to be remade? So when a subtle and delightful film like "Win Win" comes around, it gives you hope in Hollywood, and reminds you of the greatness of the film medium.
"Win Win" isn't a straight-up sports movie--though it does offer a few vivid scenes of triumph and loss on the mat. It doesn't obey the conventional rhythms of the genre. Tom McCarthy's "Win Win" sees Paul Giamatti star as Mike Flaherty, a struggling lawyer and part-time high school wrestling coach. Only trying to make ends meet financially, Mike makes some ambiguous business deals that ultimately lands him a star-studded wrestler without parents. Being the considerate family they are, Mike and his wife Jackie Flaherty (Amy Ryan), take this confused teenager in.
One thing leads to the next as the addition of Kyle (Alex Shaffer), on this seemingly hopeless wrestling team, proves to be successful. The once tension-filled family gets put to rest with the transformation in personality of Kyle. Then one day, Kyle's mother shows up just fresh out of drug rehab. Kyle despises her and she has merely returned into his life to pick up a long awaited paycheck from his grandfather (plot logistics that reveal to much of the story for me to explain). She makes plenty of threats, which evidently puts everything created by the Flaherty's and Kyle, in jeopardy.
"Win Win" is a small--though emotionally touching character study. It's grounded and rarely steps out of the director's comfort zone. McCarthy has a very precise and intricate directorial style that makes all of his character human beings who are easy to relate to. Still, none of the film's accolades could not be given without help from the slew of great performers in display here. Amy Ryan as the hard-nosed mother, Jeffrey Tambor and Terry Delfino as assistant wrestling coaches with two completely different styles, Burt Young as the grandfather who just wants to go home, and Melanie Lynskey as Kyle's mother who has returned purely for the money--these performers are very good. However, it's Paul Giamatti and first time actor Alex Shaffer who give the film its gravitas. Giamatti is quite simply one of the best working actors we have in the entertainment business. Yet, it could be Alex Shaffer who gives the most impressive performance. Having never acted on screen before, he manages to give Kyle some emotional empathy. Shaffer's performance appears to be given so effortlessly, and by the end of the movie, he is completely convincing in the role.
"Win Win" gathers all the strands (the illegal trusteeship, the wrestling team, the hazardous rapts boiler, the wrestling, the rehabbing mother, Jackie finding out about her husband's misdeeds) and wraps everything up a little to neatly. Everything clicks into place--and life seldom has uncomplicated endings. In his short career (The Station Agent, The Visitor), McCarthy has established himself as a craftsman of conventionally quirky pictures that are entirely about ingratiating themselves with the audience. He wins this fight.