source: Factotum: A Man Who Performs Many Jobs

Factotum

This movie can't be discussed in depth without at least passing mention or comparison with Barfly. The two movies covered the same person, namely Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chianski and the two films even share a few of the same exact scenes. Each movie has humor but each takes it's own approach. Barfly went for the sheer exuberance at low life lifestyles. Factotum approaches the humor from a more sadness of the world level. I prefer the former to the later. I'd like to praise Matt Dillon for bringing more light to the works of Charles Bukowski but he seems to have done with out the joie de vivre that Bukowski seem to have in starts and fits. As a film itself the movie is well acted and though it's pacing suffers from points of near inactivity it manages to keep just enough attention to bring us through the end. The presence of Frank Stallone in the movie is greatly missed. After typing that out i still can't believe it.

Hamer is a wonderful director and is well suited to adapt a life so besoffened as Henry Chinaski's is, with its peculiar humour. That said, the full potential of Bukowski is not realized and probably would never be outside of the books. Its still close though. Some sequences, like for instance, the pickle factory is very funny in true spirit of Buk's work. What may scare most fans away from this though, is pretty face Matt Dillon. He does not have the personality, understanding or the looks to match Chinaski. This is the main hindrance of this movie. Lili Taylor and Marisa Tomei comes better off, giving solid performances. If you're a fan of Buk, go check it out. If you're a fan of good cinema, check it out as well. Bent Hamer is a man of vision.

It would seem that Henry Chinaski takes Polonius' advice to heart. This adaptation shows a character who is always true to himself, no matter the consequences. Matt Dillon's portrayal of Chinaski is solid; his self-effacing style makes him way more likable than might be otherwise. Lili Taylor does a lovely job as his sometime girlfriend Jan. Their scenes together are always interesting (with or without bandages), with the characters being constantly developed. The dialog has lots of pop. Somewhat a film noir, somewhat a comic book, the film has a nice feel with the first person narration of Chinaski taking us on his tour. It could have been in black and white but is nicely filmed in color. One of those slightly rare movies as at home at a film festival (Cleveland's, in this case) or at your local theater.

As Barfly is one of my favorite movies of all time, I was very interested in seeing how Matt Dillon would take over the Chinaski reigns. At first it was a little disconcerting because Dillon plays it almost the polar opposite of what Rourke did. While Rourke was out there, Dillon was very quiet but in a hilarious, Jim Jarmusch kind of way. One scene that was so indicative of the writer wanting to be left alone is when a co-worker is looking forward to meeting Chinaski, and the meeting is filled with silence. Matt Dillon has matured into a great actor and I am glad he was nominated for Crash, and I would like to see him nominated for this too. Marisa Tomei and Lili Taylor were also wonderful. There are two scenes that are taken directly from Barfly, which is also interesting to see. Any fan of Bukowski's work must see this excellent film