Factotum (fak-TOH-tuhm) noun: a person employed to do all kinds of work. It largely describes Hank (Matt Dillon) whose uncomplicated life is governed by his employability. Or more accurately, unemployability. He’s a writer although that has become more a way of life than any serious attempt at literary greatness. He’s also a womaniser, and a drunk. So begins Norwegian writer/director Bent Harmer’s disarming look at the commitment-phobic alter-ego of self-proclaimed bohemian Charles Bukowski.

Informed by a bleakly humorous touch (Dillon returns another terrifically measured role), Factotum is a character study recalling Hunter S. Thompson for obsessive behaviour. Hank may be a bum but he’s a determined bum. “If you’re going to go,” he says, “go all the way, otherwise don’t even start”. Finding harmony in the chaos of his life, Hank knocks between crappy jobs and crappy love until he’s fired for one indiscretion or another – usually drinking. In between he writes it all down, mailing the results to disinterested publishers. To pay for stamps and whisky, he takes work where it’s offered.

Although messy affairs with poor Jan (Lili Taylor) and connected Laura (Marisa Tomei) bring some dramatic structure, Harmer has to work hard to stop the film unravelling - there’s only so much a do-nothing drunk can do to keep audiences involved. Yet it’s while skidding along the bottom that Hank proves inspirational in his search for the poetry he wants his life to be. Dillon’s splendid performance conveys the essence of a man in search of a truth. Fans of Bukowski might be better off with a rented copy of Barfly, but for the rest, there’s something compelling about Hank’s endearingly troubled life.

// COLIN FRASER