Review of Factotum (2005) by Pete R — 01 Feb 2011

Deadbeat wannabe writer Henry Chinaski drifts from dead end job to dead end job while trying to hone his craft and find his next drink. Based on a hotch-potch of the works of cult literary figure Charles Bukowski, Factotum is a fair cinematic representation of his work; you get a few chuckles over his reckless abandon in the face of polite society and imagine how liberating it would be to be able to just not give a shit.

But at the end of the day, most people who don't give a shit aren't charming, charismatic rebels; they're just assholes. For this reason, Factotum seemed to me to be just a collection of scenes of an asshole getting drunk and losing jobs, and that's it.

I didn't warm to him, he didn't show me any insights into the modern world. He was just a self-involved, self-important bore who occasionally quoted Bukowski to justify his own sorry existence, which pretty much sums up this film.

If it's comedy drunks you want, Withnail & I, Fear And Loathing, Leaving Las Vegas and Trees Lounge are all far, far better than this self indulgent cinewank.