TIFFing The Scales: What To See And What To Miss At TIFF 10

There are approximately 300 films being screened over a 10 day period during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and just scrolling absentmindedly through the schedule at TIFF.net is more than just a little overwhelming. What to see? What looks good? And what looks like an utter train wreck?

Barney’s Version (Entertainment One)

Director: Richard J Lewis

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Greenwood, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Scott Speedman, Saul Rubinek

Behind The Scenes: Based on the much beloved novel by Canadian powerhouse Mordecai Richler, and dedicated to his memory. Keep a keen eye out for cheeky cameos by Paul Gross, Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, and Denys Arcand

Story: Tracking 30 years in the life of Barney Panofsky, a struggling writer-cum-TV broadcaster from Montreal as he stumbles through several marriages and divorces, and comes under fire for the death of his closest mate.

Reality: Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) is presented to us as an unsympathetic character who thinks he “deserves all the brisket and blowjobs,” according to his father (played by a luminous Dustin Hoffman). But when Panofsky’s memory starts to go, the retelling of his follies and vices through Montreal and Rome becomes skewed, and the people that peppered his life are seen through very tiny keyholes, hence the title of the film. Scott Speedman’s character Boogie is seen as a one-dimensional cavalier cad without many redeeming qualities, as is Panofsky’s second wife, played by Minnie Driver, who comes across as a superficial space cadet even with the admission that she holds an MA. Panofsky sees everyone as one-note, yet cannot fathom the flaws in his own character, and ends up hurting the one woman who can possibly save him from himself. Rosamund Pike, as Panofsky’s third wife Miriam, is ethereally beautiful, if somewhat aggravating at her insistence of non-agression. Paul Giamatti’s performance is what makes this film, he is brutal, raw, vulnerable, and seething with passion. Unfortunately he looks dreadful, as if someone stapled a minge onto a sausage roll, begging the question, “How does this guy end up getting so much hot action?!”

Verdict: Don’t miss it!

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