Fac-to-tum.
A man who performs many jobs.
With that simple definition of the word, you have the entire premise of this film. Factotum is a movie based on the late poet/author Charles Bukowski's second novel. It centers around one Henry Chinaski -- Bukowski's alter ego -- a wayward writer who drops in and out of minimum wage jobs on a daily basis because he has neither the desire nor the patience to keep his job. He just wants to write. Chinaski doesn't even seem to care if he has no place to live or any money to get by. He only cares about being published. The little money he has, he spends it all nursing his drinking habit.
"All I want to do is get my check and get drunk," he says after getting fired from a cleaning job in less than a day.
To say that Chinaski is an anti-hero is an understatement. Throughout this film, we see him neglect his responsibilities, antagonize everyone, drink himself ill, and even hit women. Yes, "hit" hit. With a backhanded slap. It's a brutally honest yet awkward character to root for. In one scene we would see him as a pathetic lowlife, yet in the next we'd laugh at his silly antics and dry wit. It's pretty uncomfortable to watch at times, but that's the point: Here's a man who's far from perfect, but the film makes no judgments. We have to follow this strange fellow and make our own decision whether or not we like him. Chinaski is a man you don't want to be, but you wish you could be. He's so carefree and impulsive that you envy him, but then you see what all that leads to and you sigh in relief that you're not him.
It is an uneven film, because it's more concerned with getting Bukowski's sense of humor right than any character or story development. The narrative fittingly embodies the title and Hank Chinaski's character. It's lazy, it's impatient, and it has a very short attention span. Several times in the film, the story would simply jump ahead in time on a whim, with nothing but a brief voiceover narration of Hank saying something akin to "Oh, and then this happened and then 2 months later I did this," Chinaski exchanges supporting characters as quickly and easily as he changes jobs. Characters would just show up on-screen and suddenly be a close acquaintance of Chinaski, and they would disappear just as quickly.
Luckily, Factotum provides plenty of laughs. Bukowski's often-imitated subversive humor translates quite well into the film. Awkward moments, crazy situations, weird characters, and lines such as "I decided to clean up the apartment. I thought I must be turning into a fag." These are the kind of reckless gags that occupy the film. It's not concerned with obvious, elaborate set-ups of jokes. If you find Hank's rebellious persona funny, then you'll find the film funny also.
Matt Dillon does a very believable job transforming himself into a hapless drunk, despite the fact that he still looks and sounds like Matt Dillon. It's arguably his best role in years -- forget Crash! -- and one that fits him like a glove. He did the character a good balance of extreme anti-social behavior and charm, comparable to the likes of Nicholas Cage's Charlie Kaufman or Johnny Depp's Hunter S. Thompson, though this movie is nowhere near as eccentric and fantastical as those two writers', and Dillon didn't have to physically transform as much as Cage and Depp did. Little things -- like the way his pinky finger jitters or how he heaves after puking out a hangover -- they add a lot to the authenticity of Dillon's performance. Also notable, even more so, is Lili Taylor's turn as Chinaski's girlfriend Jan. From her body language to her looks, and even down to the croak in her voice as she talks, Taylor completely morphed herself into this foul madwoman. It's a wonderful, wonderful performance that makes the film enjoyable despite its shoddy narrative.
It's funny. There's nothing particularly admirable about Hank Chinaski. You don't think you should be taking advices from this guy. In fact, the message he leaves us with at the end sounds completely ridiculous coming from him, and it's not a particularly original one either. Yet, somehow, it's pretty inspiring to see how even a man like him refuses to bend over and compromise, staying cocky and stubborn about his writing even in the worst conditions.
I left the theater with an overwhelming desire to get home and write something.
"Factotum" opens August 18, 2006 and is rated R. Comedy, Drama. Directed by Bent Hamer. Written by Bent Hamer, Jim Stark. Starring Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Matt Dillon.
