Factotum
From the World of Acclaimed Author Charles Bukowski
This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of Factotum author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
Member Reviews
Well done character study - RobBC
Hank Chinaski is your typical “beat generation” antihero; a frustrated street-level poet drifting from one dead end job to another; broke, angry and perpetually hung over. His brutally honest essays about life on the edge are filled with rage and despair yet even as he shakes his fist at the world he seems forever destined to stagger in its shadow. One could almost see him as a tragic martyr to his art if it were not for the fact his stigmata are entirely self-inflicted. Between the alcoholic benders and destructive love affairs he manages to sabotage every chance he gets to rise above the gutters and dives that seem to demarcate his life. But even as the piles of rejected manuscripts and empty beer bottles get higher, he doggedly pursues his only dream; to be a published author. Matt Dillon is superb; he brings a complex intensity to the role of Hank that is further enhanced by strong supporting performances from Lili Taylor and Marisa Tomei. His character may not elicit much sympathy but his passion is unmistakable. Ultimately it’s Hamer’s assured direction that manages to keep things gritty and believable; his portrayal of a life set to slow burn is at once wholly captivating and oddly inspiring.Good effort. - shale
I was pretty impressed by this adaptation of a novel that I think would be particularly difficult to adapt. Matt Dillon does a good Bukowski impression, though at times it feels like he is doing an impression instead of it feeling like he has become Bukowski.
The biggest problem with this film probably is in the Bukowski novel which they chose to adapt. Factotum is a great book, but it is too sprawling and literary to work as an above average film. There is no real plot, no beginning or end, and the culmination of events is usually what makes a film powerful. The makers of this film probably would have been wise to adapt Bukowski first, and in my opinion finest novel, Post Office. There is more of a definite beginning and end with that story.
I think that if I were not a big Bukowski fan going into this film, I would have gotten to the end and wondered why I had just spent the past hour and a half watching the movie. Again, this is partially due to the adapted novel.
So, Bukowski fans check this out. Non-Bukowski fans might be bored.likeable, literary, but not as good as Barfly - mlpvolt
Matt Dillon and Lily Taylor make for a good screen duo in this downbeat drunken writer movie, and there are enough elegant lines and ironic moments to make it enjoyable, but the movie fails to stand above the competition in this well represented sub-genre. Its not as quirky as Sideways, not as gutwrenching as Leaving Las Vegas, and most significantly, neither as hardcore nor as funny as Barfly (which is also based on Bukowski's work). And i guess that is the bottom line. Matt Dillion shines in roles where the lead is tough on the outside and hurtin on the inside. Bukowski's heroes are hurtin on the outside and laughing on the inside. Kitchen Stories (by this director)was great. So after you've zipped all those come back for this one.
Member Reviews
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Well done character study - RobBC
Hank Chinaski is your typical “beat generation” antihero; a frustrated street-level poet drifting from one dead end job to another; broke, angry and perpetually hung over. His brutally honest essays about life on the edge are filled with rage and despair yet ...Good effort. - shale
I was pretty impressed by this adaptation of a novel that I think would be particularly difficult to adapt. Matt Dillon does a good Bukowski impression, though at times it feels like he is doing an impression instead of it feeling like he has become Bukowski.
The ...likeable, literary, but not as good as Barfly - mlpvolt
Matt Dillon and Lily Taylor make for a good screen duo in this downbeat drunken writer movie, and there are enough elegant lines and ironic moments to make it enjoyable, but the movie fails to stand above the competition in this well represented sub-genre. ...