User Reviews

Without a doubt see this movie unless a life on the edge is beyond your pay grade. It is for some, and will be for more in future, a cult classic. Maybe better to watch a Bukowski lecture first, as the person behind the story is essential to understand if it's not already obvious to you from the first 5 minutes. Yet for all the outrageousness of the character, which to some is not in fact so outrageous actually, there is an essential truth that is revealed slowly during the bulk of the story and, in case you missed it, it's laid out for you at the end. Expressing your creativity comes at a price, which is the risk of failure if you need others to acknowledge it.

Funny, sad, and nice to look at, this film has a great small cast. Has a languid pace but is never boring. The changes in fortune of the protagonist Henry, an alcoholic writer, is always on the precipice of abject failure or (relative) success. Matt Dillon seems very authentic, very believable in his role. Stands a second viewing.