Barney’s Version
Barney’s Version never quite redeems its presumably redeemable asshole.
By Scott Renshaw @scottrenshaw
In this adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s final novel, Paul Giamatti plays Barney Panofsky, a successful Montreal television producer who has lived a complicated life. In flashback, we then see more than 30 years of that life, including his marriage to a girl he thinks he knocked up in Italy (Rachelle Lefevre) and a second marriage to a rich Jewish girl (Minnie Driver) who’s the predictable polar opposite of his first wife. But love doesn’t really hit him until his second wedding reception, when he meets and falls instantly for Miriam (Rosamund Pike), who could be the one to give him stability.
Could be, but isn’t, exactly. Barney’s a complicated guy—a pragmatic sort who likes to hang with bohemian artists, casually inconsiderate to those near and dear to him, simultaneously devoted and easily distracted. Giamatti invests him with his typical affection for angry sadsacks, and does his damnedest to pull this mass of contradictions into a character whose fate will matter to an audience without the luxury of reading a novel to get deeper into his personality.
But the biggest frustration is that the fate that ultimately befalls Barney doesn’t feel naturally tied in to the life journey we see—and that’s saying nothing of the distracting subplot suggesting Barney may have gotten away with literal murder. Director Richard J. Lewis—a TV veteran making his first feature—has tackled a tricky character study in a way that tries to clean up rough edges that can’t possibly be cleaned up enough. I don’t know if I’m supposed to like Barney Panofsky, but after more than two hours, I still didn’t really understand him.
BARNEY’S VERSION
Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman
Rated R
More by Scott Renshaw
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 19
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Abigail, The Beast, Hard Miles, Sasquatch Sunset and more
- Apr 19, 2024
-
Faces of Salt Lake County book and portrait reception
Images and personal stories in a new book reveal local demographic diversity
- Apr 17, 2024
-
Feature film review: THE BEAST
A filmmaker's compelling ideas get a bit tangled in references to his creative influences.
- Apr 17, 2024
- More »
Latest in Film Reviews
Readers also liked…
-
Power Plays
Two satirical comedies explore manipulations and self-delusions by those with power.
- Aug 31, 2022
