Factotum
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Actor: Didier Flamand, Fisher Stevens, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Matt DillonBrand: Genius
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-12-26
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 79735
Studio: Ifc
Product features:
- Henry Chinaski works in factories and warehouses to support what he really wants to do: drink, bet on the horses, take up with women as rootless as he is and, above all, write stories that no one wants to publish. Based on the novel by Charles Bukowski, Factotum is the story of a man living on the edge, of a writer who is willing to risk everything to make sure that his life is his poetry. Form
DVD Reviews of Factotum
DVD Review: MARISA TOMEI! "What?" Nothing . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
Factotum is yet another failed attempt to capture the spirit and essence of poet, novelist, gambler, and drunk, Charles Bukowski. But if you can succeed in conveying even a fraction of his genius, you still have a pretty entertaining film.
First, I will dispense with the three films I know of that attempted to capture the essence of Charles Bukowski:
1. Tales of Ordinary Madness
Marco Ferreri directed this film in 1981, and it stars Ben Gazzara as the "Bukowski" character, and therein lays the problem. Gazzara is just too handsome and never lets himself go--never gives in to the wild abandon the part requires. It is a nice try, though.
2. Crazy Love, made in 1987, is a Belgian film based partially on The Copulating Mermaid of Venice, California and Ham on Rye, both stories by Charles Bukowski. Crazy Love also marks the directorial debut of Dominique Deruddere (Everybody's Famous and Wait Until Spring, Bandini). While Crazy Love has been consistently affirmed by critics and viewers alike the film has proven much too controversial for mainstream acceptance and has remained virtually unknown even with Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Penn, and Madonna fighting for its cause. Not to be confused with another film called Crazy Love, that one is about an obsessive love where a guy goes to prison for hiring thugs to throw lye in a girl's face, then goes to prison for twenty years, and when he gets out, is still obsessed with her, and eventually wins her love. Believe it or not, this is based on a true story. The other Crazy Love, the Bukowskiesque one, has a picture of a guy with a bandaged face, but it is Bukowski, or the character based on him, who suffered from extreme acne. I have never seen this one, so can't attest to whatever it was that Francis Ford Coppola saw in it.
3. Also from 1987, Barfly was directed by Barbet Schroeder, and Bukowski himself worked on the script. He also has a small cameo as--you guessed it--a barfly. Mickey Rourke really let himself go, or maybe, given the depths to which he's sunk, maybe he had to clean up and get in shape to play the role, but anyway, Rourke is almost ugly enough, and certainly can't be accused of holding back. His character is Henry Chinaski, which is the name Bukowski often uses for thinly disguised autobiographical characters. Faye Dunaway plays Wanda Wilcox, another barfly that Chinaski picks up. Though a bit older than she was in her Bonnie and Clyde hey day, she is still beautiful. She is credible as a barfly, though. When Rourke spots her he asks the bartender why such a beautiful woman is in such a dive bar. "Wanda?" the barkeep replies. "Oh, she's crazy." He makes a bee line for her. This film starts off pretty good, but then there is a jolting shift of tone when a rich and beautiful literary agent takes an interest in Rourke's barfly. Perhaps this was what Bukowski's real life was like, once he had achieved fame and notoriety, but reality is one thing, making a believable film is another. We never see anything to suggest that he has any talent or ambition to write, and suddenly, he's an eccentric literary genius who rich women can't resist?
When I studied Creative Writing at San Francisco State University one of my professors knew Bukowski before he made it big. He said that he didn't really drink as much as the characters in his books. He had a thermos mug that kept his brewski chilled, and he would have one beer and nurse it all night. He cultivated the two-fisted drinker legend purely to create an image. I suppose there might be some truth to that, but on the other hand, he must have done his share of hard drinking--or "research" as writers like to call it.
This brings us to the issue at hand, the 2005 film, Factotum. A Factotum is a handyman or servant, employed to do all kinds of work around the house. It was also the title to one of Charles Bukowski's books, which, along with Post Office, and his writing in general, was the basis of the film. Directed by Bent Hamer (great name for a factotum, actually), a Norwegian director known for a few films that focused on the lives of old people, mining great insight from close observation of the seemingly mundane, it also features keen observations. There is one scene where Henry Chinaski (Matt Dillon) picks up Laura (Marisa Tomei) in a bar. He buys her and himself a drink with his last dollar, and when they drink, they "mirror" each other exactly, so you know they are going to end up together. When they go back to Laura's place, they stop at a liquor store, and she says to charge it to her sugar daddy. This is exactly like the scene in Barfly when Henry goes to Wanda's place.
Matt Dillon falls somewhere between Ben Gazzara and Mickey Rourke. He is also too handsome. He tries to "Rourke" it up, but can't really mask his essential good looks. Still, he does his best work since Drug Store Cowboy, or his Oscar winning supporting actor role in Crash. But he doesn't top it, and some parts just don't gel. Like, he is working at one menial job and has to drive a truck. He gasses it up and just drives away without even taking the nozzle out of the tank. I didn't believe that he was that dumb or careless. He is supposed to be a writer, but didn't seem smart enough. Also, Bukowski was really ugly, but he found he could still get women. If you were ugly enough, it would work in your favor. Matt Dillon can pick up women, but if he looked as ugly as Charles Bukowski did, I doubt he would get anywhere. So, the role didn't really work for him.
Lili Taylor played Jan, another of his alcoholic girlfriends. She was very credible in her part, the kind of woman who will push a guy to get into fights. When the pair goes to the horse races, a jerk refuses to give up his seat, reserved earlier by Henry's newspaper (wouldn't you know it? the guy is a real estate agent). Jan is upset that he let's him get away with it, so she flirts with the guy until Henry is provoked into an altercation. That did have the ring of truth to it. She is THAT kind of woman. When Chinaski actually cleans up the apartment, she comes home and is upset, thinking he must have some other woman on the side. Lili Taylor really got inside Jan's skin. When Henry starts to make money betting on the horses, she turns against him. That is so typical, like a bucket of crabs, and when one crab starts to climb out of the bucket, the other crabs pull it back down.
Why is it that European directors always think they and only they can appreciate a writer like Bukowski? Bukowski was the poet laureate of Los Angeles, and why can't an American director do him justice? Just wondering. Is it another case of a prophet without honor in his hometown, or is it that European's in their arrogance think they are the only ones who truly appreciate his genius? Is Charles Bukowski yet another example of the Jerry Lewis syndrome?
One final rant: Maria Tomei. Why is she always cast as the one who loves the unlovable? Maybe not always, but lately, and if she doesn't watch out she will find herself getting typecast. She played Maggie Lauten in 21 episodes of the Cosby Show spin-off, "A Different World," from 1987 through 1988. In 1992 she played Mona Lisa Vito opposite Joe Pesci, who was "My Cousin Vinny." For that she won a best supporting actress Oscar? In 1994 she was in Only You, with Robert Downey Jr. What was that about? Destiny. Faith Corvatch (Marisa Tomei) believes that two soul-mates can be united if they find each other. From the Ouija board, she has found the name of her missing half, and it is D-A-M-O-N B-R-A-D-L-E-Y. Later, at the carnival, the fortune teller sees the name Damon Bradley in the Crystal Ball and Faith is convinced. 14 years later, she is engaged to a dull podiatrist and plans to marry until she gets a call from one of his classmates who is on his way to Venice, Italy. The classmate is Damon Bradley (Robert Downey Jr.).
After that was when she started getting typecast. She played herself on "Seinfeld," and was supposed to fall for George Costanza (Jason Alexander). The original air date was February 8th, 1996, for the 14th episode of the 7th season, entitled "The Cadillac." An hour-long episode, Jerry performs in Atlantic City, and he's flush with cash. He gets a huge wad for the Atlantic City gig, and decides to buy his dad a Cadillac. However, this has the unintended consequence of getting him accused of embezzling money from the condo board, where he serves as president. They don't buy his story that his son bought it for him, because no one thinks Jerry is funny enough to succeed as a comedian. Morty is put on trial, and kicked out of the condo. Allusions to Nixon's resignation abound. Meanwhile, thanks to Elaine, George can score a date with "My Cousin Vinnie" star Marisa Tomei but Elaine objects because of George's engagement with Susan. Kramer turns the tables on the cable company when they want to disconnect his service. They make appointments, but he is always gone. Just like the cable guy always shows up when you've been waiting all day, and just step out for a second.
Susan Biddle Ross: Hey! What're you watching?
[looks at TV]
Susan Biddle Ross: Only You? That's another Marisa Tomei movie, and you've seen that one too.
[jokingly]
Susan Biddle Ross: What, do you have a thing for her?
George Costanza: [laughing it off and trying too hard] Yeah, yeah. I have a thing for Marisa Tomei. Like she would ever go out with a short, stocky, bald man.
[forced laughter]
George Costanza: Hu hu, ha ha. Like that's her type. Huh. She's an Oscar winner.
[nervous laughter]
George Costanza: He heh. Besides, I don't even know her. It's not like anyone's trying to fix us up. Who, who would try and fix me up with Marisa Tomei?
Susan Biddle Ross: What are you talking about?
Marisa Tomei: Have I told you how much I love you today?
George Costanza: Not in the last fifteen minutes.
Marisa Tomei: Well, I do love you very much.
George Costanza: And I love you, Marisa.
Marisa Tomei: Well then, c'mon, get dressed. We're going to be late for the premiere.
George Costanza: Elaine, it's me, George
Elaine: George. How come you're whispering?
George Costanza: Never mind, never mind. I need you to do me a favor. Uhm, remember what we were talking about at the coffee shop earlier?
Elaine: No!
George Costanza: Think, a second. You know, your friend was talking about me and, you know...
Elaine: Ech, George, I have no idea what you're talking about.
George Costanza: The actress
Elaine: What?
George Costanza: [shouts] MARISA TOMEI!
Susan Biddle Ross: What?
George Costanza: Uh, ah, nothing, Nothing!
Then in 2005, she played Laura in Factotum. Downhill from there and in a way she came full circle, because her character was once again named Maggie. For The Wild Hogs, box office hit but critical disaster, of 2007, she had the thankless task of pretending to be attracted to Dudley Frank (William H. Macy). It went something like this (poor girl):
Maggie (Marisa Tomei): That's too bad. I wanted you to try my chili. It's pretty hot.
Dudley Frank (William H. Macy): No, I'll try it. I like your kind of hot. Chili, chili hot. Food hot. That's the hot I want to kiss. Eat.
Here are some books, television programs, and films that I have compared and contrasted to the film Factotum:
Factotum
post office: A Novel
Women: A Novel
Crazy Love
Tales of Ordinary Madness
Barfly
Drugstore Cowboy
Crash (Widescreen Edition)
My Cousin Vinny
Seinfeld - Season 7
CRC: I have a crush on Marisa Tomei.
Elaine: What?
CRC: [shouts] MARISA TOMEI!
Susan Biddle Ross: What?
CRC: Uh, ah, nothing, Nothing!
Description of Factotum
Henry chinaski considers himself a writer & on occassion writes. Mostly he quests for booze & women that sidetrack rather than inspire greatness. When he falls for jan the soulful connection fails to save either from their self-destructive ways & the relationship totters between connection & reflective loathing. Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 05/08/2007 Starring: Matt Dillon Lili Taylor Run time: 94 minutes Rating: R Director: Bent HamerBestsellers in DVD
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