|
|
Barney (Golden Globe winner Paul Giamatti) gets a life lesson from Dad (Dustin Hoffman) in “Barney’s Version.” |
The moderately engaging “Barney’s Version” works almost like an old-fashioned temperance movie warning against the evils of sinful drink. Not only does the boozer main character, a successful TV producer named Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti in excellent form) lose his marriage and friends because of alcoholic hazes, he comes down with early Alzheimers’ symptoms suggesting the wrath of God at work for his overindulgence.
Giamatti’s selfish main character doesn’t binge-drink or become rip-roaring drunk. It’s more subtle. Barney makes key decisions while under 70-proof influences, and they ultimately erode the stability of his relationships.
“Barney’s Version” opens with the title character in middle age. Through a series of flashbacks, Barney goes through three wives.
First, the free-spirited Clara (Rachelle Lefevre) who commits suicide in Rome. Second, the Jewish princess “Second Mrs. P” (Minnie Driver) who can’t shut up.
Third, the beautiful Miriam (Rosamund Pike), whom Barney hits on only minutes after taking his vows with the Second Mrs. P, telegraphing the early demise of marriage No. 2.
The story gains a little bit of mystery when a cop (Mark Addy) is sure that Barney shot and killed his best friend Boogie (Scott Speedman), but can’t prove it. Barney was in an alcoholic fog and can’t remember when Boogie mysteriously vanished off the edge of a boat dock. (Read more…)