None of it goes anywhere. It's just stylized alcoholism with a tired wink.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Bukowski had a bunch of none too kind things to say about “Barfly" upon its release in the 80s, but, with Factotum, he'd do plenty of bitching and moaning as well, but deep down, Hank would approve.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
After a while, Factotum surrenders to monotony and only the performances are likely to retain the viewer's interest.
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
The result is 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.
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
Like the film itself, Mr. Dillon’s performance works through understatement.
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
It's too bad that the film was directed by the Norwegian minimalist Bent Hamer (Kitchen Stories), who makes a fetish of building scenes around silence.
Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer
Factotum is so sly and low-key hilarious that anybody can be in on the joke.
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
Matt Dillon is pitch-perfect as Bukowski's alter ego Hank Chinaski.
This is also an acidly funny work, even if the humor is that of a man who drinks to stave off the pain and madness of sobriety. In his finest performance since "Drugstore Cowboy," Dillon plays Chinanski with funereal grandiosity.