Barney's Version 2010

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Paul Giamatti can do spunky (Cinderella Man) and stately (John Adams), but he's at his best turning potentially loathsome men into sympathetic characters that command your attention. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Barney's Version could use some editing and shaping, to be sure, but its core characters -- and core performances -- are sharp and clear even against its fuzzy, unfocused plot. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: But the filmmakers have been, if anything, too dutiful, too careful, and the movie that results from their conscientious, devoted labor illustrates the terrible, paradoxical trap into which well-intentioned literary adaptations so often fall. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: [Giamatti] makes this mess of a human being seem oddly gallant instead of grotesque. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Sometimes, when a movie emerges from a book, a crucial ingredient gets left out along the way. In the case of "Barney's Version," it's the wit. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: It's intriguing, but almost always frustrating. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The fact that we can stand to watch Barney without walking out is testament to Richler's story, Michael Konyves' screenplay and Lewis' direction. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: 'Barney's Version'' is a smart, well-acted two hours at the art house, full of witty observations and fellow feeling. But, really, it has no business being a movie. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: This has the overstuffed feel of a sprawling, life-spanning story that's been wrestled down to feature length. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: I wish I responded to this shrewdly acted, rather dutiful picture the way I did to the tumultuous Richler adaptation I saw and loved as a 13-year-old, "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," starring a vibrant young Richard Dreyfuss. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: An overstuffed odyssey that, while disappointing on many levels, has standout performances by Paul Giamatti as low-rent Montreal TV producer and philanderer Barney Panofsky, and, in a supporting role, Dustin Hoffman as his incorrigible father. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The parts are greater than the whole in "Barney's Version," a rambling look at a shambling man's adventures in love. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Paul Giamatti, dialing down his trembly-voiced neurotic energy to good effect, gives a holy hell of a performance... Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: Highly entertaining and arguably the most satisfying Richler screen adaptation to date. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: What the filmmakers have done so artfully is strip the story down to the bare essentials of the most significant loves of Barney's life and how his behavior, both good and bad, never stops rippling across that universe. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: In Barney's Version, Paul Giamatti does what he does best: He plays a guy who is deeply flawed, occasionally heroic, perfectly normal and utterly fascinating. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: The movie, much like your own life, is best enjoyed when you don't know exactly what happens next. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: There isn't a moment in "Barney's Version" that doesn't feel like a labor of love. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Giamatti is an ideal casting choice, but even this talented actor can't sell a lovable-jerk story that forgot to put in the lovable. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: That rumpled grumpus Paul Giamatti seizes the title role in Barney's Version, summoning irresistibility and irritability to create a character as endearing as he is galling. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: A master acting class, courtesy of Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: There is a lot of truth in "Barney's Version." It is a mercy that Barney cannot see most of it. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: It's an impossible task trying to squeeze Mordecai Richler's sprawling novel about an SOB into one little movie. But they lucked out with first-rate actors. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: We care about him from the opening moments until the end of this fairly long movie because we believe that his needs are enormous and that his passions and his loves are real. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The script doesn't need to convince us that the prickly and incorrigible Barney Panofsky is, in the end, someone worth caring about. Paul Giamatti's performance already did. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The biggest shock of recognition comes from looking at Giamatti's deeply flawed Barney and spotting a bit of ourselves gazing back. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Barney's Version" has episodes instead of plot, outbursts instead of wit and alibis instead of growth. But it also has a star we'd be willing to watch in "Barney's Version 2.0." Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: What really sells it as a story is star Paul Giamatti's boisterous, wide-ranging and seductive performance. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: One of the most successful adaptations yet of a Richler novel. And with Guy Dufaux's sun-dappled lensing, it's also one of the most beautiful. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: There's enough Richler-derived scope and sophistication to provide grown-up appeal, and Dustin Hoffman kicks in some memorable scene-stealing as Giamatti's embarrassingly no-nonsense old dad. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Barney's Version is worth seeing for Giamatti's boisterous yet nuanced portrayal and the energetic but wry performance from Hoffman. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: Barney's Version misses every opportunity for raucous picaresque fun that the book throws its way, while squandering a wealth of transatlantic performing talent led by Paul Giamatti. Read more

Dan Kois, Washington Post: Yes, it's well acted and frequently touching. But it's the thoughtful, tasteful indie-film version. It's not exactly Barney's version. Read more