Review of Barney's Version (2010) by Mauro M — 19 Nov 2011
Paul Giamatti - another actor in an exclusive club (among Robert Downey jr. and Philip Seymour Hoffman) of actors I'm starting to like more and more the more I see them on the screen.
Giamatti does again what he does best - playing a not noteworthy, ordinary man, bald, fat and unattractive but witty and charming in a way.
The film tells the story of Barney Panofsky who is played by Giamatti, a Canadian TV producer who recalls his life - focussing on his three mariages, two kids, one murder and various screw-ups - a life with a very sad ending.
The tone of the film is actually quite funny, at least for the first hour or so (especially if you like black humour) but turns into something more serious in the later parts. It has some nice dialogue and overall a decent script which made it easy for the actors (among them: Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike and Dustin Hoffman as well as his son Jake) to deliver. The make-up is as good as advertised and I thoroughly understand why it got a Oscar nomination.
This review of Barney's Version (2010) was written by Mauro M on 19 Nov 2011.
Barney's Version has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
