The Canadian comedy-drama "Barney's Version" provides ample proof.
Based on a popular 1997 novel of the same name, Barney's Version is the life story of Montreal TV producer Barney Panofsky (played by Paul Giamatti). Irascible , blunt and fearless, as he is, the film takes viewers through his life and three marriages.
Told in retrospect, the story begins in Rome in the 70s, where he marries his first wife, an unfaithful free spirit. However, the marriage is doomed to failure after instances of adultery are revealed. The movie then progresses to Barney's hometown, Montreal. There he lands a job as a soap opera producer and ties the knot with an outgoing woman who hails from a rich family.
Never really in love with his second wife, Barney walks out of his lavish wedding banquet to chase a lady to the train station , having "truly, madly and irreversibly" fallen for a woman for the first time - a woman (played by Rosamund Pike) who later becomes his third wife.
Barney is neither particularly intelligent nor good-looking. He is an alcoholic, chain-cigar-smoking hockey fanatic, but has the charm to make women fall in love with him.
Paul Giamatti turns his neurotic energy into a vivid portrayal of this multi- layered man and brings the right blend of sweet quality and vulgar elegance to the role.
Watching the film, you're not quite sure whether it is Giamatti putting his own style into the role or whether the actor is following the screenplay. Either way, the character of Barney appears genuinely real yet extraordinary.
The rest of the cast also matches his acting prowess. His father, a retired police detective played by Dustin Hoffman, imparts his parenting wisdom albeit never excessively. Dustin's characterization demonstrates how "Like father, like son" works in a movie and helps us come close to the inner world of Barney.
However, in the end one may not figure out just who Barney is. That's not a defect because Barney himself may never know.
On my 1 to 10 movie scale, I give Barney's Version an EIGHT.
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