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August 09, 2006
'Factotum': Dillon Does Bukowski (But Only Sort Of)
IFC Center welcomed a (literally) standing-room-only crowd to Tuesday night's Factotum premiere, where Matt Dillon, co-star Lily Taylor and director Bent Hamer were more than warmly received for their adaptation of Charles Bukowski's 1975 novel. The packed-house chaos spilled over to the after-party on the Bowery's Blvd. nightclub--not quite Bukowski's skid row, but where "25-year-old new owner of the NY Observer" (per the tip sheet) Jared Kushner hosted and where the IFC family's new addition, one Abel Ferrara, joyfully reconnected with Dillon (at right) in the VIP area.
Dillon is solid in Factotum as Henry Chinaski, the Bukowski alter-ego who bumps around Minneapolis drinking, gambling and getting fired from any number of low-wage hack jobs that cannot sustain his interest. He fancies himself a writer, drafting pages of copy he sends to publishers who never respond. After falling in love with fellow drunk Jan (Taylor), Henry glimpses a hint of his soul that confirms his destiny as a "bum"; his resolution to avoid regular work, family or commitment becomes a torpid responsibility of its own. Henry's mediations between the two fuel Hamer's narrative, and as such, the jaundiced, hollow spaces these characters occupy physically and emotionally are anything but desolate. Bars, flophouses and bus benches all attain the flavor of home, where Henry readily accepts his acute, squalid solitude.
Dillon spoke to reporters Tuesday afternoon about how a charter member of the Teen Idol Hall of Fame wound up riffing on a guy like Charles Bukowski."I first read Hot Water Music, I think, in 1983," Dillon said. "Or '84, maybe? This book of short stories that my friend gave me. I read the first story and I kind of got hooked right away. I don't remember which short story it was; I think it was called The Great Poet or something. Anyway, I liked it right away because it was so irreverent. The humor? I think it definitely really appeals to guys in their early 20s, and I was just, like, 21 or 22 or something. And then I read most of the short stories and novels--none of the poetry--in a four-year period or something like that. It was right around the time Barfly came out that I just stopped reading them and moved on to other writers or whatever. And then all these years later, you know, Jim Stark, the producer of the film, approached me and told me that Bent--and I didn't know who Bent was--had done an adaptation of Factotum. I was like, 'Oh, wow.' And they wanted me to play Hank, or they were interested in me doing it. And my first reaction was like, 'Are you sure you've got the right guy?' I mean, first of all, after I read him, I never thought about me playing anybody in the film. I'm so physically not the type--especially at that age, because he achieved success so late in the game. I always knew him as the white-haired guy who wrote Notes of a Dirty Old Man, you know?"
At that point Stark referred Dillon on to Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, where Hamer's Kitchen Stories was screening in its New York release. Dillon said he immediately knew Hamer was for real, but he still could not get his head around the prospect of playing Chinaski. Stark reassured him that Chinaski was, in fact, just about Dillon's age in Factotum. The role (and its challenges) acquired increasing appeal for the actor, who said his ultimate concern was to do justice to Bukowski without succumbing to long-standing impressions or myths.
"What I knew from Bukowski--and I knew a fair amount--was that he was very, you know... Almost..." Dillon paused. "The persona he has in the book sounds more like... I want to say it sounds more grizzled. Like Ben Gazarra or Warren Oates or someone. It sounds more gravelly-voiced. Then when you hear real Bukowski, he's kind of got this almost-effeminate, sort of sing-songy delivery. Which is interesting, and I think in a lot of ways it was a little bit of an affectation, you know? And I think he did that because he didn't like to read--he didn't like to do readings and stuff. And so I kind of wanted to avoid that; I didn't want to get involved in an impersonation of doing Bukowski. And they said, 'Well, we don't want that either, because, you know, it's Henry Chinaski. It's an alter ego.' And that actually gave me a real latitude, and I felt more comfortable then. And then I could go about, and I decided to do it. And then I spoke to Linda Bukowski, and she said, 'Well, of course, you know it's autobiographical.' So now I'm back--inevitably, all roads lead to Bukowski."
Factotum opens Aug. 18 in New York.
(Photo: STV)
Posted by stvanairsdale at August 9, 2006 09:09 AM
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