Paul Giamatti is one of those actors whose presence in a movie generally validates it, and Barney's Version is no exception. He manages to make a central character with few-if any-admirable traits not only bearable but downright compelling. And...

Full Review | Jun 29, 2011

The ever-impressive Paul Giamatti (American Splendour, John Adams) shines in this rambling Canadian character study.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 31, 2011

If Giamatti's performance is rigorously unsentimental, director Richard Lewis and writer Michael Konyves (adapting Morechai Richler's novel) succumb, a little too often, to slow-moving warmth and wryness.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 23, 2011

The film offers a lovely mix of compassion and humour. We get a sprawling comic tableau, the arc of a full life.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 23, 2011

The movie, much like your own life, is best enjoyed when you don't know exactly what happens next.

| Mar 18, 2011

The performances are superlative, as is much of the film's Jewish flavor. The ham is barely noticeable.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 4, 2011

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 17, 2011

"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."

| Feb 11, 2011

Highly entertaining and arguably the most satisfying Richler screen adaptation to date.

| Feb 11, 2011

This has the overstuffed feel of a sprawling, life-spanning story that's been wrestled down to feature length.

| Feb 11, 2011

The parts are greater than the whole in "Barney's Version," a rambling look at a shambling man's adventures in love.

| Original Score: B- | Feb 11, 2011

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.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Feb 11, 2011

Even though it's based on a fictional autobiography, Barney's Version has the shapelessness of a real biopic.

| Original Score: B | Feb 4, 2011

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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 3, 2011

'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.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 3, 2011

The fact that we can stand to watch Barney without walking out is testament to Richler's story, Michael Konyves' screenplay and Lewis' direction.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 2, 2011

Yes, it's well acted and frequently touching. But it's the thoughtful, tasteful indie-film version. It's not exactly Barney's version.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 28, 2011

It's all as warm and fuzzy as the smoke from Barney's cigars, and just as much of an acquired taste.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 27, 2011

Barney is someone you'll hate to love, but it's the supporting characters that will ultimately endear you to his version.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 27, 2011

A refreshingly idiosyncratic drama, rambling and self-absorbed, but also smart and literate.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 27, 2011