Barfly
Downtrodden writer Henry (Mickey Rourke) and distressed goddess Wanda (Faye Dunaway) aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But they like each other's company- and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.
American original and poet/novelist extraordinaire Charles Bukowski drew upon his own life to script this story that tickles and jabs the social underbelly of booze, bars and brave madness... and eventually forces Henry to choose between life as a literary lion or freewheeling alley cat. Barbet Schroeder (Murder by Numbers, Reversal of Fortune) directs this "classic one of a kind comedy" (Vincent Canby, The New York Times).
Member Reviews
Character study of a skid row writer - luminol
Right up front, this is one film where suspension of disbelief is essential. The litmus test for the film is a short scene wherein an ancient booze hound stumbles into a dive and there's a Priest, a Rabbi and a penguin sitting there at the bar ... Nah, I'm kidding! He orders a shot. But he's got the shakes so bad he spills it all over himself before getting a single drop to his lips. The bartender sees this and gives him a free refill on the house. This time, the old timer takes off his soiled tie and carefully ties one end around his wrist, passing the tie behind his neck, then pulling on the other end of the tie with his other hand, he hoists the shot glass to his lips in a single graceful motion. Liquid Nirvana. You're either going to find this completely inspired and hilarious or utterly insane.
This is filled with moments of quiet poetry. Every dog has it's day, and Henry Chinaski's about to cobble together two or three of them all in a row to make this week---high adventure. At the center of this delicate construct, swaying back and forth is Mickey Rourke (in his best role) stumbling around the mean streets of L.A. like a punch-drunk prize fighter reciting poetry. I loved his line readings, He enunciates and savours every vowel and each consonant as if it was marinated in 2 week old Appalachian moonshine.
It's interesting Chinaski never once mentions the "A" word. A real drunk has stamina and nobility. Faye Dunaway and Robby Muller also bring their "A" games. After years of beating the pavement trying to get this made, and finally getting the green light. The production company decided abruptly to shelve the film. It's rumoured Barbet Schroeder showed up at their head office with a portable saw and threatened to cut off one of his fingers if they withdrew the financing. Guess who blinked? As Oscar Wilde said: We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.Not for everybody, but those who like it will like it a lot - Matt1
I was expecting to be disappointed by this adaptation of a work by notorious LA writer Charles Bukowski. However, this movie has managed to stay true to Bukowski the man, and his art. If you are a fan of his novels or short stories you'll instantly recognize the same strains of dark humor and noble hedonism. It was filmed in LA, in actual dive bars, and the cast of extras consists of genuine drunks, bums, and barflys. This movie is not for the squeemish. Disney fans stay away.
Member Reviews
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Character study of a skid row writer - luminol
Right up front, this is one film where suspension of disbelief is essential. The litmus test for the film is a short scene wherein an ancient booze hound stumbles into a dive and there's a Priest, a Rabbi and a penguin sitting there at the bar ... Nah, I'm ...Not for everybody, but those who like it will like it a lot - Matt1
I was expecting to be disappointed by this adaptation of a work by notorious LA writer Charles Bukowski. However, this movie has managed to stay true to Bukowski the man, and his art. If you are a fan of his novels or short stories you'll instantly recognize ...