Barfly (1987)

	Directed by: Barbet Schroeder	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Comedy NORWEGIAN TITLE Barfly RUNNING TIME 97 minutes
	Produced by: Tom Luddy Fred Roos Barbet Schroeder
	Written by: Charles Bukowski

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Henry Chinaski	Mickey Rourke
Wanda Wilcox	Faye Dunaway
Tully Sorenson	Alice Krige
Detective	Jack Nance	-
Jim	J.C. Quinn	½
Eddie	Frank Stallone
Janice	Sandy Martin	-
Ben	Joe Unger	-
Joe	Pruitt Taylor Vince	-

Review

Mickey Rourke’s larger-than-life performance as Henry Chinaski, a stand-in for writer Charles Bukowski in this semi-autobiographical tale, is so mannered and attention-grabbing that it becomes more of a distraction than anything else. On a surface level, the film has got everything going for it – a seemingly perceptive peek at a vagrant, alcoholic lifestyle led by the struggling artist waiting to be discovered, which he of course was – Bukowski, that is. The film is set in contemporary times, but the characters and settings are really very much mid-century in essence. And the director, Barbet Schroder, isn’t quite able to bridge that gap. The film never feels rooted in authenticity; it remains a construct, an artistic experiment posing as storytelling. With Faye Dunaway as Rourke’s alcoholic mistress, Frank Stallone as his nemesis, J. C. Quinn as a sympathetic bartender, and Alice Krige in a rather absurd turn as his would-be publisher.