Where the film falters slightly is in its pacing and structure. Because it is based on a collection of short stories, the movie frequently feels episodic and meandering rather than a cohesive narrative. 2. Performances: Gazzara vs. Bukowski
Gazzara brings an incredible, gravelly, and intelligent magnetism to the role. However, Bukowski himself famously hated Gazzara's performance. The real Bukowski felt Gazzara looked "too healthy, too vital, and terribly sane"—lacking the genuine, physically rotting desperation of a true career alcoholic. While Gazzara delivers the philosophy of Bukowski well, he arguably misses the raw, ugly grit of the author's physical reality. Storie di ordinaria follia
The film follows Charles Serking (played by Ben Gazzara), a brilliant but wildly dysfunctional, alcoholic poet living in the seediest, most rundown corners of Los Angeles. Serking spends his days and nights drifting between dive bars, cheap motels, and chaotic sexual encounters with equally damaged women. Where the film falters slightly is in its
Where the film falters slightly is in its pacing and structure. Because it is based on a collection of short stories, the movie frequently feels episodic and meandering rather than a cohesive narrative. 2. Performances: Gazzara vs. Bukowski
Gazzara brings an incredible, gravelly, and intelligent magnetism to the role. However, Bukowski himself famously hated Gazzara's performance. The real Bukowski felt Gazzara looked "too healthy, too vital, and terribly sane"—lacking the genuine, physically rotting desperation of a true career alcoholic. While Gazzara delivers the philosophy of Bukowski well, he arguably misses the raw, ugly grit of the author's physical reality.
The film follows Charles Serking (played by Ben Gazzara), a brilliant but wildly dysfunctional, alcoholic poet living in the seediest, most rundown corners of Los Angeles. Serking spends his days and nights drifting between dive bars, cheap motels, and chaotic sexual encounters with equally damaged women.