Barfly

Henry Chinaski is a destitute alcoholic living in a rundown Los Angeles apartment. He works sporadically in menial jobs and sustains himself as a writer, producing poetry and short stories that fetch little money when he can sell them. He also submits his work to magazines and papers, hoping for a breakthrough while his habits keep him tethered to poverty.

One night Henry fights Eddie and loses. To gain energy for a rematch, he steals and eats a sandwich from a patron, which disgusts the patron and angers Jim, the bar owner and one of Henrys friends. Jim orders him to lie down in his apartment, and after an afternoon nap he steals food from another apartment to fuel his next fight.

Henry returns to The Golden Horn and taunts Eddie, provoking another fight. Eddie challenges him and Henry wins the contest, much to the crowd's cheers. Drunk and triumphant, he staggers to the nearby Kenmore to continue his imbibement.

At The Kenmore Henry meets Wanda, an alcoholic kept woman who is initially annoyed by him but becomes intrigued. They buy liquor at a nearby store, and Wanda steals corn from a cornfield, drawing police attention. They run to her apartment, where Wanda boils the corn and discovers it is green and inedible, which sends her into a panic that Henry consoles her.

Henry learns that Wanda slept with Eddie and chastises her. Wanda beats him with her purse, knocking him unconscious. Later a detective following Henry sees him covered in blood and calls 911; two paramedics arrive and are unfazed by his condition. Wanda returns later and the two apologize to one another.

That night Wanda claims to be dying in bed, seeing angels. Henry calls 911 and the same paramedics arrive, telling him that Wanda is just drunk and too fat.

The next morning Wanda leaves to look for a job, and Henry is tracked down by Tully Sorenson, a wealthy book publisher who has been impressed with his writing and has hired a detective to find him. Knowing Henry is destitute, she pays him an advance of 500.

As part of the arrangement, Henry breaks into another apartment after hearing a man abusing his wife. The altercation ends with the man being stabbed, and Henry escapes the building. He then goes for a drive in Los Angeles with Tully.

Tully takes Henry back to her home, they have drinks, and the two have sex. Henry is initially impressed by the promise of wealth and security but remains uneasy about the arrangement and the class difference between them.

Henry tells Tully that she is trapped in a cage with golden bars and realizes he must leave. He rejects the idea of a kept writer and the secure life she offers, choosing his own unpredictable path.

Tully goes to see if she can change Henry's mind and finds him at the bar; a drunken Wanda targets Tully and beats her up. Henry does not intervene. Tully leaves the bar and gives up on publishing his work.

Eddie calls Henry out and they head out behind the bar for another fight. The crowd cheers as the two men clash in the makeshift arena behind the Golden Horn, ending the sequence in a raw, unromantic brawl.