Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor and Marisa Tomei are all savvy, amusing and sensual—indeed, wonderfully memorable—in Bent Hamer‘s Factotum, a 2005 picture based on writings by Charles Bukowski. Dillon’s Hank Chinaski is a would-be writer who cannot adapt to ordinary life and is sometimes a feckless jerk. In one instance, he slaps to the floor of a bar his “loser” girlfriend (Taylor), who nevertheless needles him. She often drolly thinks Hank is too big for his britches.
Hank needs the odd jobs he gets fired from. A heavy drinker inept at manual labor, like the pitiable Laura (Tomei), he is finally homeless. These people are oddities in a dull milieu confusing or disappointing to them. And what comic oddities they can be. Factotum—directorially and photographically impressive—is never depressing. Good show.
Leave a Reply