Barney's Version (2010)

Touching, moving, amusing, sweet and incredibly romantic. Just bear the first 10 mins or so as they are a tad boring but then move yourself into this movie and watch this man fumble through life with but one purpose and that is to be with the Miriam, the woman of his dreams. .... The sort of incredible, undying love that most of us women aspire for... Might I add that the make up artist did a superb job of naturally ageing Barney and Miriam, along I guess with their acting. I really felt them to be young and then to be old. Very clever.

I thought this was a great film about a life fully lived by a flawed man. Paul Giamatti is fantastic as is the rest of the cast. The love depicted between his character and Miriam was lovely. Well worth seeing!

Quite good. The casting of Paul G. as the magnetic love interest for these beautiful women was a little hard to swallow, but he did a good job with the acting.

Couldn't make to the end of this self indulgent bullshit movie... what a waste of time

This movie is quite deceptive and it blew me away at the end. For two thirds of the movie you observe arrogant, mean and rude Barney interacting with work colleagues, friends and family, including his 3 wives, with the movie going between the past and the present. He is really very unlikeable and for a while I did wonder why I was persevering with this movie, but it had me intrigued as to where it was leading, especially when he meets his elegant, refined and unfailingly polite 3rd wife Miriam (I was gobsmacked to discover she is played by the amazingly talented Rosamond Pike, who looks Asian in this movie with her dark hair). The final 3rd of the movie reveals just how vulnerable Barney is nearing old age, and I went from calling him names to tears and feelings of sympathy/pity for his demise, much to my surprise. An amazing cast - Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Rosamond Pike, the actors playing Barney's adult children, Barney's best friend - and esp. Paul Giamatti, who makes Barney such a real and often unpalatable character, but ultimately one that you truly feel sorry for. Highly recommended if you like movies that make you think and feel!

Loved this surprising movie. A fascinating look at a life well lived but perhaps with self manifesting outcomes.

Couldn't get into this movie at all. Seemed really slow to me.

Not very interesting.

Don't bother

This film had me following the life of a guy that I didn't particularly like. It was long and I kind of wished it was over many times.

Very different but a different type of love story and tragedy. It was very sad in the end, but I enjoyed watching it.

Didn't watch past about half an hour. Terrible.

Mmmmmm, not sure about this one. I certainly can say it dragged, but I am glad I watched to the end. I won't watch it again.

A long tedious look at someone's long tedious life. Problem is I never got to the end of it, like he assuredly did.

Didn't get past the first 20 minutes

Giamatti is always excellent. A pity his makeup when old is a bit dodgy. Not bad anyway but not excellent either. Not sure what it's missing to make that one a great movie. Perhaps the weakness of this movie is that Barney is actually not someone you want to be identified with so when comes the end haven't felt sadness but more like well he's been living all these years a life quite luxurious... Where is the real drama in it? Still a good movie.

Another top notch Drama with Paul Giamatti, I really enjoyed it.

Didn't enjoy it much - don't always dig American humour. Didn't even finish watching it

What a lovely movie. Wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it. Definitely worth a watch.

A brilliant performance by Paul Giamatti (who won a golden globe for it). Some of the dialogue was quite unbelievable but the quality of acting carried it through for me. There were some truly wonderful scenes alongside some dreadful ones (none of this the fault of the actors). This film lingered long after it was over, and for that reason I'm going up a star - though in truth it's probably a 3 and a half.

Better than expected. Great movie. Bit of a tear jerker.

An excellent film based on a book by one of Canada's greatest writers. This is a film that will take you on many tangents, excellent acting and with many subtleties. The main character comes across as a rather gross character at times, but as we get to know him....well, watch and you won't be disappointed.

I can't say that I particularly liked Barney (he was like it in Sideways also), but if you stick with it, it is a rewarding movie to watch. What did I learn from it? It's amazing the way we can 'stuff up our lives' by making poor decisions with little or no thought about the consequences for our actions. Recommended!

Not bad. Worth watching.

I am writing this review an hour and a quarter into the movie. I had to do something to get me through the remainder. If you can somehow ignore how revolting the main character is, how utterly vile and repellant this amoral cretin is, you may find the movie more palatable than I am finding it. What's worse, it is really, really predictable. And pretentious. And in that faux-iconoclastic way. Name-drop Herzog as a superficial reference, watch ice hockey; make fun of a vegan, eat bagels with kosher salt. I do not have to live with this level of offensive stupidity in my life, I resent being inflicted with it on the small screen in my living room. If only I could give less than one star. I don't know how much longer this is going to run for, but it is too long. Oh, and if you read the review by "Alvy Singer" (who is entitled to his or her opinion) below and think the movie will be like a Woody Allen, do not be mislead. It is nothing like Woody Allen. It is totally humourless. I haven't even smiled once.

I loved this movie from start to finish. The fabulous actors take Barney's sometimes cringe-worthy life and make it into a thoroughly enjoyable watch. It was funny, clever and so sad. Lessons to be learned for our own decision making.

Had no idea what this movie was going to be about but picked it because of the great cast and I have to say it was fantastic. Great acting, great story, funny, sad, clever and surprising!

slow boring start once dustin hoffman appears it improves rapidly to become a reasonable movie

At the beginning I found this movie hard to get into, I guess because I wasn't sure what to expect. But by halfway through I was hooked and I found this movie to be thoroughly enjoyable. I think what did it for me is the 'realness' of Barney. Great casting & well-acted.

Twsits and turns and strong cast make this well worth seeing

The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky. You will want to throttle this bloke for the selfish choices he makes. Loved it

A very entertaining film featuring a wonderful performance by Paul Giamatti.

Paul Giamatti is in prime form, and this film showcses his wonderful acting. It's a charming tale of a man uplifted by the chance to spend his life 'the one' but who's life experience leaves him unable to maintain that relationship. Great performance from Dustin Hoffman as Barney's Dad. Not perfect, but well worth it.

Loved it - slow moving with a quick wit.

fantastic!!

Excellent film, Im confused as to how it missed out on the annual yearly awards?,I was totally unaware of it,but automatically watched it ,because one of the best actors of his generation Paul Giamatti was in it,and also Dustin Hoffman (Giamatti equal in previous generations) so it was a no brainer,and am i glad I did,if only more films were of this quality and substance-a rare 5 star for me-one of the years best ,almost flawless,yes some scenarios seem unlikely,but its based on a Book,a work of fiction and overall a realistic portrayal of a persons life especially the ending.Do yoursellf a big favour and watch this great movie.

I found it hard to believe that Barney would behave in the ways he did and get away with it all those years! Why would a woman be attracted to such a jerk? I don't actually think the story was believable on so many levels, so it's hard to be offended by the silly things he does. Must say that overall, I was disappointed with the content.

Interesting!

I really enjoyed this film. Barney is complely selfish and so flawed, yet entirely loveable at the same time. Although this had some funny moments, it was in the end, quite tragic. worth watching,

Not too bad.Not too good. Slow moving and a bit depressing. Not really an uplifting movie.

a very finely acted film, took some time getting into it but the effort was well worth it.

A meandering tale of a man's life that's well acted and full wry moments.

Story is well told albeit a Tad long Well acted Entertaining Worth a look if wanting a drama

An interesting retrospect on a man's life, a very flawed one at that. It's not really his version, as the events are not seen from his perspective. The guy seems to have been more successful than he deserved: city mansion, idyllic holiday house by a lake, wonderful woman as his wife. None of which he fully appreciated. For a movie mostly set in Montreal, it seemed very odd there was no French seen or heard. Odd too that as a Canadian production, none of the lead actors are Canadian.

I love Barney it's great to have a romance that is realistic and has a real story with great characters and heart ..not just a bit of fluff a touch of soul in this one. The Acting is OUTSTANDING all round and will be picking this one up to buy and add to collection

Best film I've seen all year. Great story, wonderful characters, hilarious, moving. See it.