Jude Law Remakes ’60s Hit Alfie
As most folks know, Alfie is a ladies man/rogue who loves to wine, dine, and bed women by the dozen. He’s moved to Manhattan from England because as he says the most beautiful women on the planet reside there.
He’s a fascinating character for a protagonist. Certainly not a hero, but not quite a villain, we somehow end up rooting for him to succeed (by growing up).
Alfie is the suave playboy all guys dream about being and all girls lust after. There’s a great scene about midway thru the picture where two women remark how ordinary “Euro-trash” he is.
Alfie casually throws them a smile and both lose their cold facades. He’s also smooth enough to chat up an older tenant in his apartment building to get her to clean his place.
Over the running time of the film we see Alfie bounce between several different affairs including a “semi-regular, quasi-girlfriend,” (Marisa Tomei) who dumps him when she realizes his game.
Elaine Pope and Charles Shyer’s script is fantastic. Alfie’s monologues are at times hilarious and at others sad, but always witty. The ladies of his life (played by Sienna Miller, Nia Long, Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon) are also well drawn.
His interactions with them range from heartless to pathetic. Sarandon’s cosmetics mogul, especially, takes Alfie down a few pegs. I also like how the film doesn’t have any easy answers. Alfie ends on a somewhat open ended note.
Has he really learned his lessons? Do people ever learn from their mistakes and really change? I loved the non-Hollywood conclusion.
Shyer who also directed gives the film a jazzy feel. The visual style is retro yet modern. It doesn’t drag at all as the hour and forty minutes fly by. It’s one of the more underrated films of 2004 and ranks quite high on my list.
4 out of 4 stars
