Alfie (Wide Screen) > Reviews > What's it All About?

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Great Soundtrack, slick direction
Disadvantages:	Not enough depth to the characters

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This 2004 film is a re-make by Charles Shyer of the 1966 film starring Michael Caine, this time with Jude Law in the title role, and the location moved to Manhattan (but Alfie's still English). I have not seen the original, so I cannot compare them. I have also never really liked Law as a romantic lead, which is just as well as this isn't really a romantic film.

Alfie is an eternal womanizer who is looking for something else, but can't quite put his finger on it. Will he find it before it is too late? Throughout the film he addresses the camera directly, and I found this a tad annoying, especially as it sometimes interrupted the (albeit limited) conversational dialogue. His shallow shagging around New York, at times, seems as empty and pointless to the viewer as it does to Alfie, although the film is ultimately quite melancholic. One of Alfie's plans to find deeper meaning in his life is to start his own business with best friend, and fellow chauffeur, Marlon (Omar Epps) but we never really find out what this new venture is (I assume it is another chauffeuring business). We just see him having a quickie with one lady Dorie (Ally McBeal's Jane Krakowski) but making excuses as she appears to become attached to him, he then heads off to regular girlfriend, single mother Julie (Marisa Tomei) who is always pleased to see him, and who he essentially takes for granted until she discovers what he has been up to. Alfie then lurches from a one night stand with Marlon's girlfriend Lonette (Nia Long) to a relationship with manic depressive Nikki (Sienna Miller) and an affair with charismatic older woman Liz (Susan Sarandon), on some sort of path of self-destruction as he refuses to acknowledge what is wrong with his life. Should he find what he wants, and should it work out for him, and other such details I will leave for you to discover should you watch the film.

The film is not heavy on plot, although to be fair, there is more to the movie than I have mentioned above. Attempts are made for the viewer to empathise with Alfie, as he does feel remorse when he makes a mess of things. Most dialogue is Alfie talking to the camera directly, and this is not my preferred way of watching a film, I don't really like it narrated like that, although that is a personal thing, and others may not be bothered by that. Very few of Alfie's ladies have much depth. Sienna Miller's character Nikki was most disappointing for me, as her character's mood swings meant that there was so much more potential than was portrayed, in fact her part of Alfie's story was told in interestingly lit, flickery clips that resembled a pop video rather than a feature film. So much more could have been done with this character. I liked Marisa Tomei's Julie, she was a sweet character who seemed quite normal and she (as did Nia Long and Susan Sarandon) did manage to make her character a bit more than two-dimensional, which is not easy given the limited screen time each one had. Law did everything asked of him; I don't think he has the right 'cheeky chappy' type persona that would make the ideal Alfie for me. Again this is a personal preference, in that Law has disappointed me more often than not with some of his more recent films.

What I probably loved most about the film was the soundtrack written my David A Stewart (formally of The Eurythmics) and Mick Jagger with most vocal performances done by Jagger and Joss Stone. I thought it really suited the film, tracks were poppy and catchy and the soundtrack CD alone would probably be great and work out of context. The film is very stylish in its direction and there were a number of key 'mood' words displayed on billboards and as signs in the background. Essentially I enjoyed the film, but I cannot rave about it. It is something a bit different in its direction and production style, with a great soundtrack, which is why I ultimately will recommend it.
The film is a 15 certificate, which I think is fair with a small amount of nudity, sexual and drug references. The running time is a little over an hour and a half. My DVD rental copy contained no extras. There are copies available on the web from £6.99.