Product Description Academy Award® nominated Barney’s Version is a warm and witty story documenting the extraordinary life of seemingly ordinary Barney Panofsky. With a stellar cast including a Golden Globe® winning performance from Paul Giamatti as Barney ( Sideways, Cinderella Man), Dustin Hoffman ( Meet The Fockers, I Heart Huckabees), Minnie Driver ( The the Phantom of The Opera, Good Will Hunting) and Rosamund Pike ( Made in Dagenham, An Education), Barney’s Version is set across two continents and spans three decades. Take a flashback journey through the different stages of Barney’s unusual life. Barney’s Version begins in Rome where Barney meets and marries first wife Clara (Rachelle Lefevre; New Moon, Twilight) a fiery and flame-haired free spirit until he discovers her infidelity with one of his close friends. Encouraged by his father and close confidante (Hoffman), his second shot at marriage sees Barney wed a wealthy Jewish heiress (Driver) who barely notices him switch off whenever she talks. Ironically it is at their wedding Barney meets the third ‘Mrs’ P, Miriam (Pike) who turns out to be his true love and mother to his two children. At times a true romantic, performing acts of gallantry, generosity and goodwill, often when he least expects it; other times acting jealous and wallowing in self pity, Barney certainly lives a packed life, making him an unlikely and captivating hero. An emotional, heartfelt comedy portraying the depths one will go to for love; sometimes getting it right, other times getting it wildly wrong, Barney’s Version is a must see. From Amazon.co.uk The publication of a book accusing him of murder leads schlock television producer Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) to reflect on his tumultuous life--from his troubled first marriage to his best friend sleeping with his second wife to his one true love… and how he destroyed the happiest time in his life. By turns comic and self-lacerating, Panofsky is a richly drawn character given vivid life by Giamatti, who's built a remarkable career on prickly people ( Sideways, American Splendor, John Adams). Regrettably, the women in his life aren't as fully realized, but the strong performances from the actresses playing them (Rachelle Lefevre, Minnie Driver, and Rosamund Pike) do a lot to make up for the thinness of how they're written. Rounding out the cast is Dustin Hoffman as Panofsky's father, a crude but vigorous ex-cop who loves his son unreservedly. Adapted from an award-winning Canadian book, Barney's Version feels, in the best sense, like a novel; small details and incidents build up to the picture of a man's life. The movie depicts that life without judgment, never manipulating the audience for cheap laughs or sentiment--and yet it is by turns wildly funny and achingly sad, largely due to Giamatti. He holds the viewer's attention effortlessly, quietly, never showboating his emotions or flaunting his intelligence. He's simply a superb actor, and this is a superb performance. --Bret Fetzer