Factotum 2005

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Hamer illuminates Bukowski's dark, sleazy little corner. He makes us feel with Hank and, surprisingly, at times, feel for him. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Factotum is right up there with Barfly as a distillation of Bukowskian badinage, despite the current film's sketchier provenance. Read more

Ted Fry, Seattle Times: Even the most bleary, bloodshot eyes will see a wrenching faithfulness of spirit in Matt Dillon's candid portrayal of Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's autobiographical doppelganger. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's a deadpan comedy that looks upon the world with an honesty and impassiveness worthy of its protagonist -- and of the author standing behind him. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: I just didn't think the comic touches were very subtle and very funny and the other stuff we've just seen before. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: At times, the picture recalls Jim Jarmusch at his very best, with all the self-indulgent parts cut out. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: One of the more striking aspects of Hamer's wily adaptation is the way it undercuts the seedy glamour of the author's cult even as it reinforces it. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: While not really a complete film, Factotum functions as an atmospheric, diverting character study. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Hamer has created a tidy film about a fabulously messy man. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A surprisingly satisfying film, true to Bukowski and itself, a work that manages to make the man and his profane world more palatable without compromising on who he was and what he stood for. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: In cherry-picking the more filmable episodes from the novel, Hamer and Stark have constructed a sort of poor man's Barfly, with an emphasis on drunken mischief. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Dillon is better now that he's settled into sturdy middle age. He makes more sense; I never got him as a Tiger Beat centerfold. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Factotum is so sly and low-key hilarious that anybody can be in on the joke. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: An aimless movie about an aimless man is still an aimless movie. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: This is the sort of movie in which nothing happens -- in the worst sense. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: Bukowski deserves better than this dismal, wearisome adaptation of his novel, and so do Bukowski's fans. Director Bent Hamer's movie is ugly, depressing and persistently off-putting. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: One of the few films that gets to the heart of what a writer does and how he does it, without the cliches of pages being torn from the typewriter, crumpled and tossed on the floor. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: In his finest performance since Drugstore Cowboy, Dillon plays Chinanski with funereal grandiosity, breathing in every particle of his self-destructiveness like a long, slow drag from a cigarette. Read more

Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger: While the acting is good, the narrative is flat and repetitious. The director doesn't connect the scenes into a meaningful character study. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: There are a few laughs -- and a corking hangover. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: This is one of the best movies of the year, and one of the two or three best performances. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: After a while, Factotum surrenders to monotony and only the performances are likely to retain the viewer's interest. There's probably an audience for this film, but I suspect it's not a large one. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: The transplant didn't take in Barfly, and it works no better here in Factotum. In each case, the baying of the boozehounds just seems repetitious and banal -- the noise endures but the joy is gone. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Quite dull, truth be told. As good as Dillon and Taylor are in their roles, making us side with them even as we despise them, there's not a whole lot that happens in a life ruled by the bottle, the butt and the shag. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: The film may be modest in its ambitions -- but achieves just as much anyway. Just terrific. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Variety: Arguably one of the best adaptations of Bukowski's work. Read more

Melissa Levine, Village Voice: Bent Hamer's deadpan adaptation of the Charles Bukowski novel has an appealing listlessness, but it begs the question: Is there anything left to learn from this material? Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Wins you over even as it dares you to keep watching. Read more