Barfly

Dir: Barbet Schroeder

1987

***

Directly after watching 1987’s Barfly you should read Charles Bukowski’s novel Hollywood. Adopting the stylized alter-ego, Henry 'Hank' Chinaski, a character used in previous novels, this book relates his experiences of working with a director, finding financial backing, losing financial backing, writing the screenplay and finally completing Barfly. The seemingly preposterous exchanges and occurrences within these pages leave the reader with the conviction that Hank Chinaski's life was truly stranger than fiction. Everyone involved with the film had nice things to say of the author/screenwriter, until he wrote about them. It adds a fascinating extra level to the film. Everyone in the book is given a false name; Mickey Rourke, the lead actor in the film, is named Jack Bledsoe, Faye Dunaway is named Francine Bowers, Barbet Schroeder, the director, is named Jon Pinchot and Menahem Golan, co-producer, is named Harry Friedman. Other Hollywood people Chinaski (Bukowski) encounters are easier to spot; Madonna is named Ramona, Roger Ebert is named Rick Talbot, Isabella Rossellini is named Rosalind Bonelli, Taylor Hackford is named Hector Blackford, Werner Herzog is named Wenner Zergog and Francis Ford Coppola is named Frances Ford Lopalla. The film is ‘presented by’ Coppola so his name is more obvious but still hilarious. The story of the film sort of follows on from his Chinaski novel’s; Post Office, Factotum and Women (and Ham on Rye, although it is about Hank’s earlier life before working at the Post Office) but I wouldn’t say the character is particularly recognisable. The story finds Henry Chinaski (Mickey Rourke) as a destitute alcoholic who lives in a rundown apartment and works menial jobs when he can find them. An intelligent man and keenly aware of his circumstance, he finds solace in expressing his feelings and perceptions of the world through writing poetry and short stories which he submits to magazines and papers for a few extra dollars. So far so Bukowski. It’s the fighting that didn’t really ring true for me. There is something about Bukowski’s writing also that just can’t be translated into film. He has written pages and pages about sitting in his flat drinking, something you can’t just simply watch. After one fight too many with the bar tender at his local drinking spot, Hank staggers on to another establishment down the street, where he continues to drink. There, he meets Wanda (Faye Dunaway), a fellow alcoholic and a kept woman, who, lonely in her own right, invites Henry to drink with her, with booze she buys on her lover's account at the liquor store. She invites Henry to her shabby apartment to drink whiskey, and he quickly takes up residence with her. They share a bed and drink to excess. The next day they set out to get jobs to finance the booze soaked life together. This is the Chinaski/Bukowski that I recognise. The film is fairly un-climactic but that’s authentic really. Mickey Rourke played Hank his way – which was good – but not at all like I ever imagined him. For me Faye Dunaway is the star of the film. Bukowski originally wanted Sean Penn to star as Chinaski, but Penn insisted that Dennis Hopper direct the film. Bukowski had written the screenplay for Barbet Schroeder, who had filmed him for French TV years before, but would not surrender the script to Hopper, whom he despised as a gold-chain-wearing Hollywood phony; Bukowski and Penn remained friends for the rest of Bukowski's life but you have to wonder what could have been and I’m sure Penn has his regrets about it – or at least he should. Rourke and Bukowski were initially nice about each other but both turned around and were critical after a few years, with Bukowski stating that he thought Rourke’s performance was wrong and Rourke saying how unpleasant Bukowski was. The film is also included in Cannon Studio legend. Cannon very nearly pulled the plug before filming. The film was ultimately produced because Barbet Schroeder allegedly appeared at the Cannon offices one day with a battery powered portable saw and threatened to cut off his finger unless Cannon reconsidered its decision and agreed to make the film, stating that he was represented by the law firm of Black and Decker and would be forced cut off his finger to allegedly show to the world that Cannon was cutting off a piece of him by abandoning the film. Alas, all the things that happened behind the camera ended up being way more interesting than anything that happened in front of it. Watch it as reference before reading the book only, as this isn’t quite Bukowski as it should be.