Barney’s Version – A film discussion.

Barney’s Version is a rare movie. First off, it is really long. It is a drama, comedy, has thriller elements, and doesn’t really have a conclusion…per se. Most importantly, it is a character movie about a character who is a bad person. He hustles TV tax loops as a career, is an asshole, and torments the women he loves.

It only succeeds because it has the best acting I’ve seen in a long time. Sure, Colin Firth was great in The King’s Speech, but it kinda’ asked for a great performance. There is something different to me about an Oscar-bait performance and an average-Joe performance. I’ll elaborate on that in a second.

Paul Giamatatti is Barney who experiences tragedy while living a wafey life in Europe and decides to take a job offered to him in Montreal where he makes a shitty soap opera. Is making shitty entertainment silly? Not at all. Producing the show only to make money, then hating the shitty entertainment you produce - that is silly .

His father is played by Dustin Hoffman in one of the most enjoyable performances I’ve seen from him. The whole movie kind of works like that. It adds up to very little, but is just kinda’ cool to watch. We see Barney jump from wife to wife, regret his mistakes, and punish women with seemingly unlimited patience.

In many ways, Barney is a realization of our social desires, but with a lack of self awareness. But in a way, Barney may have self awareness, he just doesn’t give a fuck.

Take Barney’s wife’s friend Blair. He is a vegan and talks LOADS of shit about eating meat. Sure, I love animals a lot and hate cruel forms of animal husbandry, but these people make my blood boil. Most of us have met someone like Blair in real life, but politely agree with his nonsense out of curtousy to him or our friends.

Barney is just rude to him and this effects his friendships and, most of all, his relationship with his wife. The movie takes a long time to get anywhere, but that kind of begs the question: Where does it go?

The movie is kind of about a murder case that surrounded Barney when he was younger and whether or not he killed his best friend. We find out what happens, but I’m not satisfied that is the point of the film. It is a McGuffin of sorts – a plot point that serves a purpose and doesn’t really impact the overall story.

You can flame me about a how the film is just a slow and analytical look at a man’s life and the controversy surrounding an accidental death, but then why the disease segment of the film? Just to add continuity between the movie and the novel? The novel contained an unreliable narrative due to Barney’s disease and asterisks from his son that correct factual mistakes. I don’t see much of that here. It seems the movie suffered from the fact that it would be so hard to do a 100% accurate interpretation and be able to find an audience.

What the movie does do right is uncanny though. What it does is actually makes me fucking care about the characters. Barney reveals something to his wife Merriam toward the end of the film that feels more tragic than most death scenes I see in average movies. The moment is so genuine that people in the theater were teary eyed. Why? I assume because it was so believable it struck similar moments in their lives and maybe made them think what it would be like to them.

Now, the Colin Firth thing: This might just be me, but when I see an extraordinary actor playing an extraordinary person, while amazing, isn’t that same as Paul Giamatti as Barney. Its like Mickey Rourke as Ram – there’s just something to extraordinary actors being able to just inside a loser’s mind and body and exude that persona.

Again, flame on, but thats just how I feel. I still think Colin Firth’s performance is legendary, but still PG takes it to the house.

Barney’s Version is not a great movie, but comes as close as you can to being one. There just something missing…

Collin says B+/5