|
|
 |
Factotum
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak/Shane Roberts (21st January 2007). |
|
The Film
 Struggling unpublished writer Henry Chinaski (Matt Dillon) spends his life in a wide range of dead end jobs. His sole purpose is to fund his life of booze, women and gambling while he writes in his spare time. "Factotum" (which we're told in the opening credits means 'a person who performs many jobs') was written and directed by Norwegian Bent Hamer, making his English language debut. Based on the novel by cult writer Charles Bukowski whose book was barely adapted in 1987 and was directed by Barbet Schroeder starring Mickey Rourke who also played the Chinaski character. Hamer has brought a very European tone to his first U.S. film with light comedy even though the story has some pretty dark undertones. Henry is often almost one step away from living on the streets because his drinking and gambling get in the way of him holding down a job. His treatment of women and total lack of respect for anyone or anything should make him a completely unlikable guy but the charm and humour that Dillon brings to the character in an outstanding performance means you can never totally dislike or hate him. Because the Chinaski character is an autobiographical alter-ego for Bukowski some of his hard core fans have complained that Dillon is too good looking for the role (Rourke's sleazy overweight bum was closer to the truth) but I think they are wrong. He is hardly his usual matinee idol self. Carrying some extra weight and adding a slumped posture and tired drawl of a voice that sounds a lot like Nick Nolte (who would have been a more obvious choice for the role, although a little old) he really nails the worn down, self-destructive drunken character. Lili Taylor is also very impressive as Jan the slutty and needy fellow drunk Henry moves in with just days after meeting her in a bar. Not quite as successful is Marisa Tomei as Laura, more refined and upper class than Jan but ultimately just another one of Henry's bed and drinking partners. It's a role very similar to Faye Dunaway's Wanda in "Barfly" (1987) but Tomei is just not very convincing as the over-the-hill rich girl. She's also too pretty and healthy looking.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 1.85:1 this widescreen anamorphic transfer is about as average as I've seen. The image feels flat and uninteresting, this is partly due to the low light look of the film, its settings and composition but is also due to the fact we some film grain through this transfer, some minor compression artefacts and that some shots aren't as sharp as I would have liked them to be. The film's color palate is subdued and the dullness is translated well through this transfer, other than that there isn't much to write home about.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is included, I felt that this track was severely under mixed and also very quiet, although a lot of the dialogue is soft spoken and presented without distortion I still had to turn up the volume to max to make out what was being said sometimes, I also found that the majority of the sound was very front heavy, the surround channels were hardly in use and that makes for an overall mediocre sound track. Optional subtitles are included in both English and Spanish.
Extras
Genius Products have included a featurette, a soundtrack promo, the film's theatrical trailer plus a collection of bonus trailers as extras on this disc. Below is a closer look at these supplements. The primary supplement on this disc is the "Making-of" featurette which runs for 28 minutes 15 seconds, this is partly in Norwegian (with English subtitles) and in English as well, this clip plays out like a profile of the director and takes a look at his prior work as well as his involvement in this film and a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of some scenes. The clip also features interviews with some of the key cast and crew and provides a brief look at the filmmaker and what they are trying to make. A CD soundtrack promo is included, which is basically an ad for the CD and runs for 32 seconds. Also included on this disc is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 4 seconds. Rounding out the extras are a collection of bonus trailers, these are start-up previews and can be skipped, they include: - "Coastlines" which runs for 1 minute 49 seconds. - "Brothers Of The Head" which runs for 2 minutes 20 seconds. - "Wordplay" which runs for 2 minutes 11 seconds.
Overall
Although there are some great scenes including Henry's visit to his parents, going to the races with his work buddy Manny (Fisher Stevens) and meeting a boss's writer friend the pace is just too uneven which gives the film too much of an episodic feel. Evidently the script stays fairly faithful to the novel with only a few small changes, the main one being that it is not set in the present day. Predictably it will probably be a lot more entertaining for Bukowski fans than for first timers. This film has been reviewed by Shane Roberts. The DVD specifications and extras have been reviewed by Noor Razzak.
|
|||||
|