Factotum (2006)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Why so much hype?

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

First off, let me tell you...this movie is funny. It is a dark comedy, so the humor was expected to be witty, and it delivered. Matt Dillon plays this role superbly - with some great one liners I might add. I was never a fan of his until this movie. The role is perfect for him.Had never heard of Bent Hamer until this movie, but I like his style of directing and he is very good at timing.Character development was OK, however I would have liked to have seen a bit more plot. That area made this film a tad forgettable.I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who has a dry, witty sense of humor, it made me laugh out loud a few times, which I rarely do by myself at home. :)

this is a pathetic movie with bore-u-to-death storyline. wasting the whole length of the playing time to portray a writer-wannabe self-righteous bum and loser. one of the worst movies ever made into production. there's absolutely nothing in it except self-indulgent binge drinking, sex, horse-race gambling and wandering around in bars, beds and temporary jobs in factories. most of the characters showed in this film was just like the main character, without any energy and interest in life, absolutely aimless like lost souls or walking dead. a guy who periodically holding a pen in his hand, chain-smoking and drinking would finally got his muse in writing? this is one of the worst movies, cuz it ain't worth making into a film, completely wasting time and money to tell a good-for-nothing guy's soul-less daily passage. one of the screenplay writers was the original writer who wrote this totally pointless nothing-in-it story, then some brainless guys in the movie industries picked up the garbage and made it into a movie with nothing in it. it's not Albert Camus' existentialism nor the nihilism but a shallow low-life do-nothing pinhead writing a void diary of his crappy miserable and tried so hard to look like James Joyce's 'The Dubliner'. there's no philosophy or life reckoning thoughts in it. a so-called short novel/movie with no oxygen and nutrition. don't try to fool me with high scored reviews to pretend that you could see something out of nothing. this is the exact sample of 'the new dress of the emperor', cuz it's naked nothingness.

I have waited a long time to see this movie. IFC finally ran it one night. I thought it would be something like "Barfly" from Barbet Schroeder. Wrong. This film doesn't recreate that underworld of chintzy, dirty, smoke filled, character filled bars you associate with his stories. It also fails to capture that Bukowski attitude that Mickey Rourke did so well in the above mentioned film. That natural smart-ass attitude. Fans of Charles Bukowski will enjoy seeing scenes from his books on screen but those unfamiliar with his books could get the wrong impression about his works. This film looks like just another 'Movie Of The Week" about a drunk and his relationships. If you want to get a better idea about Charles Bukowski's world watch "Barfly".

First, my only gripes with the film are about authenticity. And they're just because I'm a huge fan of Charles Bukowski. I've never thought of Matt Dillon as a "great" actor. But I thought Dillon's role as Bukowski was just okay. I almost can't quite put my finger on it. He looks a decent bit Like Buk, but his actual performance seems almost too much like a mediocre impression. I don't know. It's just not very natural or convincing or something. I'm not an acting coach. He just didn't click with me as Bukow...*ahem*, Chinaski, anyway.As a whole the film just didn't capture the feel of the Bukowski novel. It seemed too clean for some reason. The whole film just seemed a lot more tame than the literature. His writing captures this great sense of adventure, danger, and a frequent raw vulgarity. But also, it has a very artful heart to it. The movie missed this entirely, in my opinion.But believe it or not though, I still think it's a good movie. Outside the actual interpretation of Charles Bukowski's novel, it's still fun watch, with generally good performances, and a phenomenal story to have been based on.