Hollywood Reviews and Movie Trivia

"Factotum", written and directed by Bent Hamer, and Matt Dillon's tour-de-force performance as Henry Chinaski, scores a B...

As anyone who has pursued a career in any of the arts knows, it can and will be tough. The old saying that if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, certainly holds true. I was reminded of my aspirations and pursuit of a career in film production. If it wasn't for the fact that I was young and full of ambition and not knowing what I know now, I might have been detoured from the pursuit of a dream that seemed totally stacked against succeeding.

Charles Bukowski published in 1976 bases "Factotum" on the 2nd novel, and it is widely said that the character of Henry Chinaski is his alter ego. If that's the case, how much is conjecture and how much is real...

It's said that Charles Bukowski was all of the things that Henry Chinaski is in "Factotum", which means "somebody employed to do a variety of jobs for somebody else". Henry (Matt Dillon) is a heavy drinker, has casual sex whenever he can, a gambler, and takes on low-level jobs when he needs money to buy his next alcoholic binge. The one thing that Henry is, is truly committed to writing. Above all else Henry believes in himself as a writer and nothing else takes precedence. He uses his good looks and charm to get what he needs and what he wants.

Henry meets Jan (Lili Taylor in a stellar performance) who is almost a mirror image of Henry in that she has a fondness for alcohol, loves sex, and has the same attitude for working as Henry. Henry and Jan hit it off, and Henry moves in with Jan. And it works, for a while. His being a struggling writer enamors her. There are many days and nights of drunken sex and lofty ambitions. As time goes on, what starts out as camaraderie turns into antagonistic confrontations. All the while Henry is writing and mailing his writings to publishers. Henry finally calls it quits with Jan and moves out of her apartment. As is Henry's way, he finds another low-level job to make enough money to get a cheap place. As usual, Henry goes to his local bar and picks out his next sexual encounter.

This time, Henry picks up Laura (Marisa Tomei) who's different from Jan. Laura is more upscale and introduces Henry to a more glamorous world. And of course, Henry is Henry and the relationship with Laura just doesn't work. A chance meeting with Jan happens and they try it again, to no avail. The fire doesn't ignite as brightly as the first time, and they both know it. And Henry, being Henry, goes looking for that next job that takes no commitment that will let him continue to write, to continue to be Henry.

"Factotum" is an engaging film with a top-notch performance by Matt Dillon that takes one into the world of a struggling writer who, above all else, believes in himself as a writer. Does Henry succeed? Well, if Henry is Charles Bukowski's alter ego, we know the answer to that question...

Grade: B