Is i think a perfect way to describe my viewing experience of "Barney's -Version". This film is both parts entertaining comedy as well as heart-felt tragedy. Which really surprised me that such a combination was even possible, but this film succeeded in building a bridge between this (in opinion until i watched the movie) unlink-able depths of human emotions. The movie starts of very strong and reaches it entertaining highs mid-film. it does loose a bit of its sharpness after that but it does return to its high form near the end. hence the rating of 7/10.Overall "Barneys-Version" is a good and well made movie, manifesting my view on Paul Giamatti as being a very talented actor and the film getting a recommendation from me.

Barney's Version (2010): Dir: Richard J. Lewis / Cast: Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Rachelle Lefevre: Drama comedy about reason. Barney is a failure at life. He produces a TV show he doesn't care for. He gets married three times. He pursues one woman straight from the wedding reception of his second marriage. He has two children that he barely acknowledges. And his best friend dies under circumstances that have him under extreme bad publicity. Director Richard J. Lewis hits many themes here including an ageing job done on Paul Giamatti that is convincing as he comes down with alzheimers. Giamatti delivers perhaps his best performance since Sideways. He plays Barney as a louse who can relate to his father but not to any of his three wives. His first was an actress who became pregnant and then committed suicide. Rosamund Pike plays his third wife whom he meets at his second wedding reception. He pursues her and she eventually marries him after his divorce. This marriage is more successful until Barney's insecurity sets in when she wishes to return to her career in radio. Minnie Driver steals scenes as his wealthy spoiled second wife whom Barney cannot stand. The situation surrounding their divorce begins comical and concludes tragic. Dustin Hoffman is hilarious as Barney's retired detective father who rebels Driver's father and concludes his life on an amusing note. Rachelle Lefevre plays Barney's first wife who announces she is pregnant but commits suicide after informing him that it is not his kid. Great film about one's flaws particularly those of total ignorance. Score: 9 / 10

This has shades of Pippa Lee told from the man's perspective; with the benefit of Rosamund Pike and Paul Giamatti, who are brilliant. Giamatti is a powerhouse of an actor but is playing a similar character to his other roles, which is a little tired... I'd like to see him play something different and to be honest I found it a little unbelievable that he was so successful with women. I don't see it. Sorry. Dustin Hoffman stole the show, and the pacing and back and forth of the film was one of the only things that kept it interesting for me. I didn't feel immersed or invested, just mildly curious, and struggled to remain concentrated. It was almost painful to watch as the characters (except Pike and Hoffman) were all so annoying but it was lifelike and gritty with no bells and whistles. However, the characters were well drawn and the story was cleverly told in told of Direction, Screenplay and execution, and as a example of acting prowess it was great but in terms of "liking" the film, I didn't particularly.

One of the main thing that attracts me towards any film is the cast & story i have seen plenty of autobiographical films and also films like this one Barney's Version is based on a novel but it is the finest film Paul Giamatti ever done.The Cast:when i saw the big names like Rosamund Pike & Minnie Driver listed i was immediately ready to watch as i am a big fan but main highlight is the actor Paul Giamatti he never impressed me he usually does bad moves and mostly comedy but here he goes absolute nuts specially in the climax giving his best performance in extremely serious manner.The dialogs are nicely written there are some comedy moments as the script demanded those i think its best to say its a very over the top silly film but with a great narrative.The only thing bothers is the editing section the runtime could have been trimmed easily many unnecessary scenes look like outtakes with no relation or connection to characters & story in anyway.The Plot:Barney Panofsky is a TV producer he is alcoholic & a heavy smoker he is getting old he looks back at his life all those mistakes & crazy things he has done plus the relationship with all of his 3 wives,kids & his friends.This is a film not for everyone people will complain about it for being boring i handled it because it was something i was looking for once again i would like to mention Minnie Driver here she is excellent & looks even more beautiful then ever i became a fan of her when i saw her in Goldeneye 1995.If you wonder why this film is called barney's version let me clear this up a bit it should have been called barney's vision because of his views on life & how he looks at it but actually its about barney & his versions too the same guy with many different personalities basically the character is confused so when i searched a bit about author Mordecai Richler he wrote the novel of the same name the novel has more depth then the film but this is a faithful adaptation.Overall Barney;s Version 2010 is a film you can watch if you like heavy dialog oriented films this was not released in theaters across Pakistan don;t know why but its definitely worth grabbing it on the DVD Disc my rating is 5/10.Recommended