'Factotum' review Issue #29

By Jocelyn Ehnstrom
Published: September 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Factotum
Directed by Bent Hamer

Charles Bukowski was the quintessential chauvinistic male writer. Like a Tom Waits song, his work consists of poetic sentences regarding seedy pastimes amid alcohol, women, and gambling that teenage boys find life-affirming. In the film adaptation of his novel, Factotum, subtitled “Man of Many Jobs,” Matt Dillon plays Bukowski’s alter ego Henry Chinaski, who is continuously fired from various occupations because of his inability to stay sober.

In sequences that are so ridiculous they verge on lampoon, Chinaski revels in his own adolescent behavior and is an intoxicated mess for most of the movie. However, these drunken high jinks fail to offer comic relief in a film that has absolutely nothing resembling a plot. Those who might want to label Chinaski an “anti-hero” would be mistaken since that definition usually connotes at least a slight sense of interest for the character. The outstanding Lili Taylor, who plays Chinaski’s difficult girlfriend Jan, is one of Factotum’s only redeeming qualities. Taylor and co-star Marisa Tomei steal the show from Dillon during their short screen time by refusing to sacrifice the characters’ authenticity for the exaggerated script.

The fact that Chinaski is a writer seems to signify his right to act in this totally despicable manner, including exhibiting disrespect for all people. However, despite a voice-over narration spewing some of Bukowski’s more popular quotes, there are no scenes in which he is working on anything literate. And it doesn’t take long to notice that the movie is as aimless as its lead character. Bukowski’s affinity for barroom settings and fast women are fascinating when described in his novels, but when these subjects are portrayed by inadequate actors and filmmakers, the stories become undesirable.