Factotum (D or 1/4 stars)
Fact: 'Factotum' isn't a very good movie. Written & directed by Bent Hamer, this dark comedy is based from a novel by Charles Bukowski. The story is shockingly simple. Hank Chinaski (Matt Dillon) is a depressed author in L.A. who is trying to get one of his many short stories published. He has no friends. His inspiration: the simultaneous pleasure & pain that booze & women evoke. These women are Jan (Lili Taylor) and, for a short while, Laura (Marisa Tomei). How exciting. 'Factotum' is slow, lazy, pointless, joyless cinematic pretention.
Hank can't have it all. What's he all about? Drinking, sex, smoking, gambling, drinking, sex, drinking, oh ... & intermittently writing, searching for jobs, sending in some short stories to publishing companies, drinking, sex, smoking, gambling & drinking. This is all he does. Never once does he think he should tighten the reigns & focus. His low-life tendencies do nothing to progress/inspire his lackadaisical writings. He appears to yearn for literary success, yet puts forth minimal effort.
Even after he meets the fiery Jan (assumably his soul mate), he doesn't change his ways for the better. How can he? She's even more self-destructive than he. She doesn't work. She wakes up in dirty undergarments, throws-up from daily hangovers, lights a cig, makes some breakfast, and begins drinking til its time to go to bed again. She's comfortable for him, and vice-versa. They have a definite 'connection', but she's mainly a catalyst for his 'loser' cycle. It's entertaining, for a while, to see just how deplorable these two people can be. But then you're over it very quickly.
Honestly, there is nothing I can think of that is positive about this film. I 'could' say that the acting is decent. I could say that there are few humorous moments. It's a stretch to even put those last two sentences on paper. The story lacks a real purpose. Though he lives on the edge, the plot lacks 'edge'. It lacks 'drive'. And no character really develops. Why is Chinaski like this? Why does he live his life so slovenly proud? I am so depressed after watching 'Factotum' that I may just leave my house, waltz into the nearest bar & have a few; I'm sure I'll see Hank Chinaski there.
Hank can't have it all. What's he all about? Drinking, sex, smoking, gambling, drinking, sex, drinking, oh ... & intermittently writing, searching for jobs, sending in some short stories to publishing companies, drinking, sex, smoking, gambling & drinking. This is all he does. Never once does he think he should tighten the reigns & focus. His low-life tendencies do nothing to progress/inspire his lackadaisical writings. He appears to yearn for literary success, yet puts forth minimal effort.
Even after he meets the fiery Jan (assumably his soul mate), he doesn't change his ways for the better. How can he? She's even more self-destructive than he. She doesn't work. She wakes up in dirty undergarments, throws-up from daily hangovers, lights a cig, makes some breakfast, and begins drinking til its time to go to bed again. She's comfortable for him, and vice-versa. They have a definite 'connection', but she's mainly a catalyst for his 'loser' cycle. It's entertaining, for a while, to see just how deplorable these two people can be. But then you're over it very quickly.
Honestly, there is nothing I can think of that is positive about this film. I 'could' say that the acting is decent. I could say that there are few humorous moments. It's a stretch to even put those last two sentences on paper. The story lacks a real purpose. Though he lives on the edge, the plot lacks 'edge'. It lacks 'drive'. And no character really develops. Why is Chinaski like this? Why does he live his life so slovenly proud? I am so depressed after watching 'Factotum' that I may just leave my house, waltz into the nearest bar & have a few; I'm sure I'll see Hank Chinaski there.