Barfly (1987)

Barbet Schroeder at his best! And "More" and "Single White Female" I really enjoyed. Very much. But here, the director managed to overcome himself. When I first saw it, I think it was in 1987 or 1988, I did not like it, I found it boring. I was only 29 years old. Watched again in June 2018, I rediscovered it, I see it with other eyes and another mind. A true masterpiece, a unique cinema piece. Mickey Rourke makes a role of great value. Faye Dunaway the same. Also Alice Krige who is very beautiful. All the actors are exceptional. The story is exceptional. The music is cool. Directed and filmed brilliantly. I think I've woken up, at least, after 30 years...

I have got to tell anyone who will listen that this is one of THE most boring whodunit movies I've ever seen. It's almost impossible to convey how let down I am, now that I've seen it. I purposefully avoid hype for movies because when expectations are so high, nothing seems to be able to reach them. I usually avoid the hype train whenever possible. That said, I was jacked to see this movie and was fully aboard the hype train. It couldn't be helped. So, I was certainly open to intense disappointment had this movie not been good. I'm so unhappy to report this has happened.The only word I can think of to describe this movie is dull. It's unexceptional work and everything that I had hoped it wouldn't be. It's not entertainment, to be sure. It has none of the nuances a drinker wants to see. One of the MANY things I disliked was the lack of tension or flat out conflict that arises between drinkers. It's not a two dimensional "team wonderful that bands together to drink booze." Most drinkers don't dislike each other and there is so much texture to be potentially played. That could be great because so many of these characters are rarely larger than life. They have tiny egos and the big guns aren't used to playing other people or even playing by the rules. In this film they are all thrown together in an unbelievable fashion. Again, much less than I ever dreamed possible.The entire cast didn't really deliver. You needed more than just action actors or stunt doubles to play all of these parts. The pathos isn't there, and nor is the timing and truly deep performances. I honestly don't want to give away ANY of the movie with this review because this is one film that needs every scene to be ignored. Do yourself a favor and remain unspoiled. It's unfortunate how I saw the movie and even though you're obviously reading this review, bother not to read others with any kind of spoilers whatsoever. Experience the awesomeness of not seeing it for yourself.

Love blossoms in the gutter when a shabby skid row derelict meets an alcoholic floozy in the bars of outer LA, but don't be dismayed by all the rampant sleaze: despite the vivid atmosphere of cheap booze and wasted lives this unique and unusual film represents a minor triumph of comic nonconformity. The script was written by low-life poet Charles Bukowski and is filled with all his favorite things: winos, hookers, losers, and a "wet rat in the rain", played to perfection by Mickey Roarke, who with his flabby posture and smooth beatnik whisper gives the character more humor and humanity than Bukowski may have intended. Give Roarke credit for choosing to appear in such an unflattering role, but this is no ordinary bum. He's a philosopher drunkard who listens to Mozart and Mahler when he isn't picking a fight or puking in an alley after one drink too many, a man whose total freedom from responsibility gives him the power to be completely spontaneous. Faye Dunaway isn't allowed the same depth of character, but together they help make this one of the few films for which the word skuzzy can aptly be used as a compliment.

Rourke was and is one of the most unusual talents in modern movies. I saw him first in Rumble Fish and was hooked - and later in Barfly.The movie is tragic - and magic. It appeals to the sense of the dreamer in all of us - limited only by our ability or inability to loose the bonds of self-imposed craving, addiction - "that which we can't do without" - whatever that may be.Faye Dunaway is just beautiful in Barfly and the relationship between Dunaway and Rourke is one of the great unsung romantic partnerships on screen. Imagine if you will if Rhett Butler hit the bottle in his late forties and Scarlet suddenly twigged that she couldn't have kids and gin tasted better anyway - it would look like Rourke and Dunaway! Its been years since I saw the movie but the memory of it is never far away and its about time I bought a copy. If you've seen Rourke in Sin City you're just not getting the full picture of one of the most gifted, badly managed actors in the business. The nineties should have belonged to Rourke.Enjoy.