Vastly superior movie to Barbet Schroeder's "Barfly", despite Mickey Rourke's entertaining performance in the latter. Novelist and poet Charles Bukowski's excellent (and some would say, unfilmable) book about the author's incredible unemployment and employment history, as well as your usual Bukowski boozing and fornicating with unhygienic women, receives an almost unheard of luxury in Hollywood: a decent script. Lead Matt Dillon is an undeniably odd casting choice when remembering Rourke's presence, or, worse, viewing actual pictures of Bukowski, who closely resembled a 116 year old, bloated, Native-American woman with bullet-riddled hide for skin, and a head the shape and size of the author's own buttocks. But Dillon captures more of Bukowski's less violent misanthropy and more of his gentleness and charm beneath the outbursts of drunken violence. Schroeder's film celebrated the obnoxious fist-fights, with supporting characters--more like drunk extras--staggering around in the worst cartoon performances since the hillbillies in "The Minstrel Killer". Whereas here, the people are downtrodden and f---ed up without losing their humanity. Lili Taylor is excellent as Dillon's closest thing to a steady girlfriend, and just as the movie sustains its share of sadness, there's plenty of grotesque laughs and clever dialogue:
TAYLOR: "God said, love thy neighbor. DILLON: "Yeah, and he also said to leave him alone."
One static shot of a typical Bukowski morning involving nausea, vomit, and beer is equally uplifting. And accurate. A well-paced movie to boot. The trailer and even the box art reeked of "indie" indulgence, but, instead, this is a tight, well-acted portrait of the true outlaw/outcast/artist that was Bukowski, rather than the bumbling pugilist Rourke created in "Barfly", plus that movie doesn't age for sh-t. Terribly sorry, Frank Stallone fans.
TAYLOR: "God said, love thy neighbor. DILLON: "Yeah, and he also said to leave him alone."
One static shot of a typical Bukowski morning involving nausea, vomit, and beer is equally uplifting. And accurate. A well-paced movie to boot. The trailer and even the box art reeked of "indie" indulgence, but, instead, this is a tight, well-acted portrait of the true outlaw/outcast/artist that was Bukowski, rather than the bumbling pugilist Rourke created in "Barfly", plus that movie doesn't age for sh-t. Terribly sorry, Frank Stallone fans.