Review: Alfie (2004)
February 5th, 2006
Alfie’s raison d’etre, when not moonlighting as an upscale limo driver, is to prowl the streets of Manhattan seeking helpless women with reckless abandon typical of a modern day cad. After a string of one-night stands and the proverbial breaking of hearts, Alfie must reckon with his devilish ways and face up to his selfish actions towards the opposite sex. Naturally, this means he must open his heart and commit to one woman, but to Alfie that step is more dangerous than his continued sexual freedom, regardless of the consequence. And thus the moral and ethical spine of the new remake of the original Michael Caine classic, inextricably directed by Charles Shyer in a style desperate to transplant the look and feel of the swinging London of the 60’s to modern day New York, all with gimmicky editing high jinks, self-reflexive musical montages, and barefaced billboard signs that litter the streets with grand ideas like “Wish” and “Believe”. While Jude Law is a charming actor and can hold audience interest, his Alfie (unlike the Michael Caine version), is simply not dangerous enough and without a trace of the predatory instincts needed for a successful womanizer. For the story to carry any meaningful weight when his character inevitably seeks to change his ways, there would have to be a major turnaround in attitude and behaviour, which doesn’t happen, unless of course the transformation was meant to be subtle but judging by the stylized theatrics of the film, subtlety wasn’t intended. With an endless parade of Alfie philandering scores of beautiful women (Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, and Sienna Miller), the film loses steam midway through the second act just when it should be getting its second wind. Either way, this new Alfie doesn’t bring anything that the original didn’t already have (except for the posh wardrobe) and because the screenplay doesn’t take Alfie’s actions seriously enough to warrant audience involvement, there’s nothing but a shell of a movie that is nice to look at but hard to commit to.
Richard Saad
© Cinephile Magazine, 2006
