Great Film overall

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This has shades of Pippa Lee told from the man's perspective; with the benefit of Rosamund Pike and Paul Giamatti, who are brilliant. Giamatti is a powerhouse of an actor but is playing a similar character to his other roles, which is a little tired... I'd like to see him play something different and to be honest I found it a little unbelievable that he was so successful with women. I don't see it. Sorry. Dustin Hoffman stole the show, and the pacing and back and forth of the film was one of the only things that kept it interesting for me. I didn't feel immersed or invested, just mildly curious, and struggled to remain concentrated. It was almost painful to watch as the characters (except Pike and Hoffman) were all so annoying but it was lifelike and gritty with no bells and whistles. However, the characters were well drawn and the story was cleverly told in told of Direction, Screenplay and execution, and as a example of acting prowess it was great but in terms of "liking" the film, I didn't particularly.

Great movie. Starts slowly and seemingly haphazardly, but about halfway through it kicks into a higher gear. Ultimately a very profound, moving movie, showing the cycle of adult life, though through a less-conventional life. Filled with great humour and great sensitivity and character depth too.Great, compelling, convincing performance by Paul Giamatti as Barney. I can't imagine anyone else who could have played the part. Reminds me of his performance in American Splendor.Rosemund Pike is superb, gorgeous and elegant as Miriam. Good support from Dustin Hoffman (but, then again, what were you expecting from him - a bad performance?). Good to see Minnie Driver again, and she gives a solid performance.

The main character was utterly loathsome. I didn't want to spend an hour watching him, let alone an overly-long 2 1/4 hours. There were no sympathetic characters; I hated the Paul Giamatti (an actor I hate in everything he does) character and hated all of the others for not hating him.Dustin Hoffman redeemed this movie, his moments in it were great. But there was absolutely nothing else.The movie was largely a plot less character study of an obnoxious character. The only real plot element was the death of the friend, Boogie. I'm not going to give away the way this element of plot is resolved, but I didn't get the point at all when I saw the movie, only when I googled it did I realize that the one scene with the airplane was resolving this plot element. Maybe if I'd read the novel it would have been more clear.Why are we supposed to love hateful destructive characters? I don't, and never have.

A truly excellent film which showcases the acting talent of Paul Giamatti. He plays a man who marries 3 times in the film. His first two marriages are a disaster resulting in one suicide and one divorce. His 3rd marriage appears to be a huge success, until one mistake leads to divorce again and heartbreak.Dustin Hoffman is wonderful in a supporting role as Giamatti's father. He certainly got what he had wished for in life.We see a lot of Jewish nuances throughout the film.This is primarily a film dealing with unconventional people over a 30 year period. To say that they lack conformity is to put it mildly.