Barney's Version (film)

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Barney's Version
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard J. Lewis
Screenplay byMichael Konyves
Based onBarney's Version
by Mordecai Richler
Produced byRobert Lantos
Starring
CinematographyGuy Dufaux
Edited bySusan Shipton
Music byPasquale Catalano
Distributed byEntertainment One[1]
Release dates
  • September 10, 2010 (2010-09-10) (Venice)
  • December 24, 2010 (2010-12-24) (Canada)
Running time
134 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$12.1 million[2]

Barney's Version is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Richard J. Lewis, written by Michael Konyves, and based on the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler.[3] Starring Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre, Scott Speedman and Dustin Hoffman, the film follows Barney Panofsky (Giamatti), an alcoholic soap opera producer as he navigates his three marriages to Clara (Lefevre), "The Second Mrs. Panofsky" (Driver) and Miriam (Pike), his relationship with his father Izzy (Hoffman), and the mysterious disappearance of his friend Boogie (Speedman).

Barney's Version premiered at the Venice International Film Festival September 10, 2010, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion,[4][5] and was theatrically released in Canada December 24, 2010. Despite positive reviews from critics, the film was a box-office failure, grossing $12.1 million against its $30 million budget. Giamatti won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Adrien Morot was nominated for Best Makeup.

Plot[edit]

Barney Panofsky is living with his best friend Boogie in Rome. He marries the mentally disturbed and unfaithful Clara Charnofsky after she tells him she is pregnant with his child. He finds out the child — delivered stillborn — is not his, and he demands they separate. She commits suicide, and a devastated Barney decides to return home to Montreal.

Barney soon meets the woman who becomes his second wife, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish family. At their lavish wedding, Barney meets Miriam Grant and immediately falls in love. He tells her his feelings for her that night, but she rejects him.

Despite his marriage, Barney sends flowers and gifts to Miriam. He later picks up Boogie, who comes to detox for a few days at Barney's lake house. He walks in on Boogie in bed with his wife. Initially overjoyed that he has an excuse to divorce her and pursue Miriam, he later questions Boogie's integrity. The drunk men argue, and Barney shoots two bullets from his gun to dissuade Boogie from snorkling, one into the air, before he trips and passes out on the dock, and Boogie falls backwards into the lake.

When Barney awakens, Boogie is missing. A detective tries to beat a confession out of him until his father, Izzy, intervenes. Barney continues to believe that Boogie ran away, and holds out hope that he will reappear.

With his divorce final, Barney asks Miriam on a date. He travels to New York City to meet her and finally begin a relationship. They marry and have two children, and Barney gets a job producing a television series. Izzy dies in a brothel, causing Barney to laugh and cry and call his father a "King". Barney and Miriam live happily until, on another vacation to the lake house, Barney meets Blair, who works in radio, Miriam's old line of work. There is an immediate platonic connection between Blair and Miriam, much to Barney's noticeable consternation.

After Barney and Miriam's son, Michael, leaves home, Miriam informs Barney of her intention to return to work. He attempts to dissuade her, but she persists and secures employment, thanks to support from Blair. Miriam begins work at a radio station, but Barney misses her first on-air interview — because he "was drunk and watching the hockey game, like has happened a thousand times before" — and is rude and dismissive to Miriam's colleagues.

Miriam remains steadfastly faithful to him, but eventually, his picaresque behavior results in her taking a weeklong visit to Michael's place in New York. While she is absent, Barney gets drunk at a bar and goes to bed with a former actress on his show. He tells Miriam about his infidelity, and they divorce. She soon marries Blair.

Barney, who has been displaying small signs of a deteriorating memory (forgetting where he left his car on two occasions), begins to show signs of an acute but unspecified memory loss. After Boogie's body is discovered near the lake house, dead from an apparent sky diving accident, Miriam meets Barney for lunch and offers to help as a friend.

When Miriam returns from the bathroom, Barney has paid for the meal but forgotten his wallet. She follows him, and, by the time she catches up to him, he has forgotten that they were divorced. He speaks to her as if it were years earlier, assuming that they're still married and that their children are quite young.

Barney's condition worsens until his death. While his children are helping to settle some of his affairs at the lake house, they observe a "water bomber" plane scoop up water from the lake and dump it on a fire on the mountainside, showing the children what could have happened to Boogie, referencing an urban myth.[6] The final scene shows Miriam visiting Barney's grave, leaving roses at a tombstone bearing both of their names.

Cast[edit]

Various Canadian film directors appear in cameos.[7] Atom Egoyan appears as an early director of Barney's soap opera, Constable O'Malley of the North, while David Cronenberg appears as a later director on the same soap.[8] Paul Gross plays the star of Barney's soap, and Denys Arcand portrays Jean, the maître d' at Barney and Miriam's luncheons beside the duck pond at Montreal's Ritz-Carlton. Ted Kotcheff appears as a train conductor.

Production[edit]

After being in development for 12 years, the film was released in September 2010 with Paul Giamatti in the title role.[3][9] It was directed by Richard J. Lewis and produced by Robert Lantos from a screenplay by Michael Konyves.[10] Filming took place in Montreal,[11] Lake Memphremagog, Rome and New York.[12] The visual effects were produced by Modus FX in Montreal.[13]

Release[edit]

The film grossed $472,892 in Canada during its first few weeks.[14] As of April 17, 2011, the film had grossed $4.3 million in the United States, and a total of $8 million worldwide. Most of the worldwide box-office was in Italy.[2]

Reception[edit]

As of January 2024, the film holds a 77% approval rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 137 reviews with an average rating 6.65 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads: "With a magnificent performance by Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version offers much comedy and insight to the complexities of modern romance."[15] It has a score of 67 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

Roger Ebert praised the performances, writing that Giamatti's in particular "is one of those achievements. He is making a career of playing unremarkable but memorable men; remember his failed wine lover in 'Sideways,' his schleppy Harvey Pekar in 'American Splendor' and his soul-transplant victim in 'Cold Souls.'"[17] Ebert added the performance "is successful not simply because of his acting but because of his exuding. He has a sweet quality that just barely allows us to understand why three women, the last of them a saint, would want to marry him. It’s not money: He’s broke when he marries the first, the second is rich in her own right, and the third is so desirable that Barney actually walks out of his own wedding reception to chase her to the train station and declare his love at first sight."[17]

Awards[edit]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result
Academy Awards[18] February 27, 2011 Best Makeup Adrien Morot Nominated
Genie Awards[19] March 10, 2011 Best Picture Nominated
Best Actor Paul Giamatti Won
Best Actress Rosamund Pike Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Dustin Hoffman Won
Best Supporting Actress Minnie Driver Won
Best Director Richard J. Lewis Nominated
Art Direction/Production Design Claude Paré and Élise de Blois Won
Costume Design Nicoletta Massone Won
Adapted Screenplay Michael Konyves Nominated
Original Score Pasquale Catalano Won
Best Makeup Adrien Morot and Micheline Trépanier Won
Golden Globes[20] January 16, 2011 Best Actor - Comedy/Musical Film Paul Giamatti Won
Jutra Awards March 13, 2011 Best Screenplay Michael Konyves Nominated
Best Art Direction Claude Paré Nominated
Best Hair Réjean Goderre Won
Best Makeup Réjean Goderre Won
London Film Critics Circle Awards[21] February 10, 2011 Best British Actress Rosamund Pike Nominated
Best British Supporting Actress Minnie Driver Nominated
Satellite Awards[22] December 19, 2010 Best Supporting Actress Rosamund Pike Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ McClintock, Pamela (6 November 2010). "Territory deals sealed for 'Barney's Version'". Variety. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Barney's Version (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b Lacey, Liam (28 July 2010). "Lantos's version, 13 years later". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  4. ^ "Venezia 67". labiennale.org. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  5. ^ MacDonald, Gayle (31 July 2010). "Barney's Version world premiere to take place in Italy". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Dead Scuba Diver in Tree". Snopes. 2 November 1997.
  7. ^ "'Barney's Version' a cinematic labor of love". The Columbus Dispatch. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Barney's Version gets a 'stupid' Cronenberg cameo". The Globe and Mail. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  9. ^ Lantos, Robert (23 December 2010). "The making of Mordecai Richler movie 'Barney's Version'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Barney's Version press kit" (PDF). Sony Pictures Classics. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Barney's Version film casts spotlight on some of Richler's Montreal haunts". The Hamilton Spectator. 3 December 2010. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  12. ^ Richler, Noah (12 October 2010). "My Dad, the Movie, and Me". The Walrus. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  13. ^ Frei, Vincent (14 December 2011). "BARNEY'S VERSION: Yanick Wilisky - VFX Supervisor & Co-founder - Modus FX". The Art of VFX (in French). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  14. ^ Kelly, Brendan (11 January 2011). "Barney's Version booming at the box office". The Gazette. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  15. ^ "Barney's Version". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Barney's Version". Metacritic.
  17. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (19 January 2011). "Drinks too much, smokes too much, can charm a little". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Villeneuve's Incendies wins eight Genies, including best picture". The Globe and Mail. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011.
  20. ^ "Paul Giamatti - Golden Globes Awards". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  21. ^ Ng, Philiana (20 December 2010). "The King's Speech, Another Year Lead Nominations at London Critics' Circle Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  22. ^ "2010 Nominations" (PDF). International Press Academy. Retrieved 21 October 2015.

External links[edit]

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