Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Barfly
1987
****
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Frank Stallone, Jack Nance, J.C. Quinn, Sandy Martin

Henry Chinanski is a drunk poet whose only worry in life is where he is going to get his next drink. Cult novelist/poet Charles Bukowski's semi-autobiographical script is funny, charming, and full of quotable dialogue. However, the film offers a somewhat romanticised, not to mention implausible depiction of alcoholism (the bum-like Chinanski is irresistible to beautiful women). Mickey Rourke does not give a performance, he inhabits the character.