Factotum

Enjoyable for any Bukowski initiate.

The summary says he's living life on the edge, the edge of what? Edge of mediocrity? Edge of poverty? Edge of moral death? I could see any of those, but this guy's pretty much a jack ass who pretends to be a writer occasionally and spends most of his time deliberately destitute with the life aspirations of a flea. I'll give it that they lifted some good stuff from Bukowski and they get the atmosphere right, but I'm pretty sure I got some sleeze all over my face.

Beautifully constructed, but Dillon's Chinaski is too mannered to seem really authentic.

I don't know how you get such a dull movie about such an interesting guy. Matt Dillon couldn't be Bukowski if his life depended on it.

Work is the curse of the drinking class. Factotum is a hollywood rarity: a slice of blue-collar life. There is not much to it: just the fine Dillon as the Bukowski simulacrum Henry Chinaski, perpetually losing jobs and women. And a bit of poetry. And though the film lacks an overt climax, there's never a dull moment. Factotum's humility and unpretentiousness are refreshing.

A rather cut-and-dry adaptation of Bukowski's excellent novel; there's none of that raw, brilliant energy that the book had. Dillon's performance was quite weak as Chinaski, but even so he did have the drunkenness down right. It should have made up it's mind whether it was contemporary or period, plus it completely failed to nail down the Los Angeles setting. Too often the tone was all wrong making a mockery of Bukowski's work. More of a caricature than an actual adaptation.

Remember being disappointed, but it was okay.

Dillon is surprisingly convincing as Bukowski's alter ego Henry Chinaski. He meanders in and out of jobs and relationships, always staying true to his writing and the bottle.

Infinitely inferior to Barfly, and too mundane to be even downbeat.

I enjoyed it. And I don't enjoy much.

Barfly was horrible. This is worse, but there's a really nasty scene filmed at Palmer's, where I've had several union-related drunken dust-ups. So I'll give it five more points for scenery and integrity. It still sucks though. Probably fulfilled Matt Dillon's lifelong dream to play Bukowski, but let's face it, he sucks. Dull and trite.

the director and Matt Dlllon has no idea about Bukowski... and that's bad if you're in a Bukowski movie...

The book is much better. Hamer did not do it justice at all.

If the movie were shot by diffrent director instead of american one, it would be so diffrent. I dont think that bent hamer observe the book well.

Muy buena representacion del mundo que plasman los libros de bukowski, solo que siento que se queda corto en algunas escenas, los libros son demasiado realistas, y esta pelicula se qued aun poco corta en ese aspecto

After being a little disappointed by Barfly, I was pleasantly surprised by Factotum, which does a decent job of bringing the spirit of Bukowski to the screen. Like Bukowski's writing, it flows comfortably and unpretentiously. I also liked the voiceovers, I thought that they helped carry the writing to the screen. Last but not least, Dillon was surprisingly convincing as Chinaski.

Oddly low-key without a drunken feel, but does transmit Bukowski's WTF attitude about life's insignificancy and companionship's little pluses and minuses.

matt dillon belki de there's something about mary'den beri en iyi oyunlarından birini oynamış. film biraz dağınık anlatılmıştı ama ben bunun chinaski'nin sürüklenişiyle uyumlu bir teknik olduğunu düşünüyorum. bunun yanında hamer'ın aslında dramatik olayları komedi diliyle anlatması neredeyse skeç tadında karikatürize sahneler sunması enteresandı. jim stark'dan olsa gerek, gerek anlatımda gerek kesmelerde, gerekse diyaloglarda bir jarmusch havası hissedilmiyor değil

"Flip on the Independent Film Channel any day of the week, any hour, and chances are you'll find a movie like Factotum." - Jeremiah Kipp

Matt Dillon is great as a neer-do-well aspiring writer scumbag. Lili Taylor is gorgeous and off the hook, completely awesome. Marisa Tomei is pretty great also. The story is gritty and dirty and a great example on how not to be successful. He just doesn't seem to give a damn about much of anything except writing and drinking. How could he hookup with such hot women? The characters are raw and engaging. Annoying voice over. Entertaining at times, but a good example of how not to live your life.

Overall Enjoyment: 24/40, Plot/Themes: 11/20, Cinematography/Direction: 11/20, Acting/Writing: 11/20

I had been looking forward to seeing this for years, so I was rather disappointed to find out how boring it is. The pacing is bad and the writing is not very creative. It's too bad. There is surely a story here to be told, but Bent Hamer fails at telling it. Its lack of cohesion and depth results in a pretty unfulfilling film.