Barbet Schroeder’s Barfly follows hard-drinking writer Henry Chinaski (Mickey Rourke) – literary alter-ego of writer Charles Bukowski – as he drifts between seedy Los Angeles bars, brawls, and writes poetry and short stories for magazines. He forms a tentative, turbulent bond with fellow drinker Wanda (Faye Dunaway), and briefly attracts the interest of a publisher who sees promise in his writing. Gritty yet tender, the film captures the poetry and despair of lives lived on the margins of society.

Notes by David O’Mahony

Screening as part of the Faye Dunaway season.