Barney's Version (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Barney's Version' (a Canadian production directed by Richard J. Lewis) spans 3 decades and takes us through the life & memories of Barney Panovsky. But the film opens in 2009 with 65 yr. old Barney (Paul Giamatti) - a hockey fanatic, TV producer, and grade A grouch - making middle-of-the-night phone calls to Blair (Bruce Greenwood), current boyfriend of his beloved ex-wife, Miriam (Rosamund Pike). She was the 3rd Mr. Panovsky. And during the course of the film, we meet all 3. Though acquitted of murdering his best friend (Scott Speedman), Barney's life was full of guilt. A hard drinker ...HARD; a frequent cigar smoker; and foul-mouthed ... how anyone could bare Barney - at all - is a mystery. But friends and wives, he had.
In flashbacks, we learn that in his youth (early 1970's), Barney was a free spirit in Rome where he married Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), a pregnant painter; assumably with Barney's child. Red-haired, sarcastic, unfaithful, & unstable ... tragedy ensues. The plot then jumps a few years to when we meet the 2nd Mrs. Panovsky; a wealthy Jewish Princess (Minnie Driver), who talks & shops incessantly. It is at their over-the-top wedding where Barney meets & pursues his 3rd wife, mother of his 2 kids, & the love of his life ... Miriam. With his dad, Izzy (Dustin Hoffman) at his side, Barney takes us through the ups & too-plenty downs of his life. Not only does Barney become a true romantic (thanks to Miriam), but he also finds ways to be charming, thoughtful, & good when least expected. Illness finds its way into the story. And by the time the year 2010 shows up in the story, we will have witnessed quite the epic scope of Barney Panovsky's life.
I've watched many films where comedy & drama are wed; well-balanced, etc. This is not one of those films. But for over an hour of the 132 min. running time, I was HIGHLY entertained. I loved the vibe, the flow, the scenery, the performances, & most of all - the witty humor. But I'm giving this film a B- because I feel that it derails itself in the final 45 min. by inhabiting a completely different tone than the 1st half of the film. The film became sad, melodramatic, overstuffed, & slow. The acting still held up. That is one positive. But it wasn't enough for me to quantifiably give this film a thumbs up. Furthermore, certain subplots came to dead ends. Scenes came & went, and I wanted more context for what was going on.
But I won't go too negative. For much of the run time, 'BV' is a rich, satisfying film on all fronts. Parts of the story are wonderfully vivid & cinematically satisfying. The make-up work (aging the characters 30+ yrs.) is well done; I understand its make-up nomination at the Oscars. Watching Giamatti just nail the character of Barney is a pleasure. You name the trait & Giamatti hit it: curmudgeon, charming, witty, lovelorn, misanthropic, 'life of the party', irritable, irritating {haha}, pitiful, and back again. I now understand why Giamatti won the Golden Globe Award for a Comedy this year. Dustin Hoffman doesn't stretch his skills, here. But Dustin does Dustin as well as he can; and it's delightful. Minnie Driver is appropriately shrill as Barney's 2nd wife. And Rosamund Pike is excellent as Barney's affable true love. Every gesture, every stretch of dialogue - I believed in her.
'Barney's Version' is very filmic - that is to say - it's what I go to the movies for. There's an intangible quality of the film that screams to you 'this is a good movie'. Watching Barney tackle failures, successes, love, disappointments, marriage, children, friendship, & illness is something to see. But ultimately, there is just way too much of Barney's life to be smashed into 132 min. without skipping over much-needed explanations. Because so much is jammed in, the overtly emotional effect that the film so desperately wants me to have in the end is stunted. Overall, I was intrigued throughout 'Barney's Version', but frustrated by how it all turned out. I admire aspects, for sure. But this project may have worked best in a mini-series medium.
In flashbacks, we learn that in his youth (early 1970's), Barney was a free spirit in Rome where he married Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), a pregnant painter; assumably with Barney's child. Red-haired, sarcastic, unfaithful, & unstable ... tragedy ensues. The plot then jumps a few years to when we meet the 2nd Mrs. Panovsky; a wealthy Jewish Princess (Minnie Driver), who talks & shops incessantly. It is at their over-the-top wedding where Barney meets & pursues his 3rd wife, mother of his 2 kids, & the love of his life ... Miriam. With his dad, Izzy (Dustin Hoffman) at his side, Barney takes us through the ups & too-plenty downs of his life. Not only does Barney become a true romantic (thanks to Miriam), but he also finds ways to be charming, thoughtful, & good when least expected. Illness finds its way into the story. And by the time the year 2010 shows up in the story, we will have witnessed quite the epic scope of Barney Panovsky's life.
I've watched many films where comedy & drama are wed; well-balanced, etc. This is not one of those films. But for over an hour of the 132 min. running time, I was HIGHLY entertained. I loved the vibe, the flow, the scenery, the performances, & most of all - the witty humor. But I'm giving this film a B- because I feel that it derails itself in the final 45 min. by inhabiting a completely different tone than the 1st half of the film. The film became sad, melodramatic, overstuffed, & slow. The acting still held up. That is one positive. But it wasn't enough for me to quantifiably give this film a thumbs up. Furthermore, certain subplots came to dead ends. Scenes came & went, and I wanted more context for what was going on.
But I won't go too negative. For much of the run time, 'BV' is a rich, satisfying film on all fronts. Parts of the story are wonderfully vivid & cinematically satisfying. The make-up work (aging the characters 30+ yrs.) is well done; I understand its make-up nomination at the Oscars. Watching Giamatti just nail the character of Barney is a pleasure. You name the trait & Giamatti hit it: curmudgeon, charming, witty, lovelorn, misanthropic, 'life of the party', irritable, irritating {haha}, pitiful, and back again. I now understand why Giamatti won the Golden Globe Award for a Comedy this year. Dustin Hoffman doesn't stretch his skills, here. But Dustin does Dustin as well as he can; and it's delightful. Minnie Driver is appropriately shrill as Barney's 2nd wife. And Rosamund Pike is excellent as Barney's affable true love. Every gesture, every stretch of dialogue - I believed in her.
'Barney's Version' is very filmic - that is to say - it's what I go to the movies for. There's an intangible quality of the film that screams to you 'this is a good movie'. Watching Barney tackle failures, successes, love, disappointments, marriage, children, friendship, & illness is something to see. But ultimately, there is just way too much of Barney's life to be smashed into 132 min. without skipping over much-needed explanations. Because so much is jammed in, the overtly emotional effect that the film so desperately wants me to have in the end is stunted. Overall, I was intrigued throughout 'Barney's Version', but frustrated by how it all turned out. I admire aspects, for sure. But this project may have worked best in a mini-series medium.