Barney's Version (2011)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

From my favorite movies..

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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 is a really sort of unique little comedy/drama. It really does try to have an even balance, starting off as a comedy but then turning into a dark comedy and eventually turning into some sort of drama. Paul Giamatti is absolutely fantastic, of course, changing natural from emotional note to emotional note in a way that makes other actors look like they're straining. Rosamund Pike is also really great, infusing such a natural warmth and presence to her character, completely opposite to what she does with her role in Gone Girl, which is for my money, the best performance of 2014. As a film overall, it could've easily come across as forced or fake, but it never actually does. It manages to make a great impact in what it does.

The main character was utterly loathsome. I didn't want to spend an hour watching him, let alone an overly-long 2 1/4 hours. There were no sympathetic characters; I hated the Paul Giamatti (an actor I hate in everything he does) character and hated all of the others for not hating him.Dustin Hoffman redeemed this movie, his moments in it were great. But there was absolutely nothing else.The movie was largely a plot less character study of an obnoxious character. The only real plot element was the death of the friend, Boogie. I'm not going to give away the way this element of plot is resolved, but I didn't get the point at all when I saw the movie, only when I googled it did I realize that the one scene with the airplane was resolving this plot element. Maybe if I'd read the novel it would have been more clear.Why are we supposed to love hateful destructive characters? I don't, and never have.