Synopsis:
This double feature combines the Swinging 1960s classic ALFIE with its 2004 remake.
In the 1966 version, Michael Caine turns in one his finest career performances as the title character, a...
This double feature combines the Swinging 1960s classic ALFIE with its 2004 remake.
In the 1966 version, Michael Caine turns in one his finest career performances as the title character, a feckless London lothario whose chief pleasure in life is to have a good time on dates with a different woman each day of the week. When Alfie accidentally impregnates his live-in girlfriend Gilda (Julia Foster), he takes a vacation in the country to think about his life--while still managing to engage in sexual affairs with a variety of women, including millionairess Ruby (Shelley Winters), young runaway Siddie (Millicent Martin), and even his friend's wife Lily (Vivien Merchant). However, Alfie can't vacation forever. Before long, his fatherly responsibilities catch up with him and he's forced to face the product of his debauchery. Based on the novel of the same name by Bill Naughton, ALFIE touches on a number of controversial topics (polygamy and child abandonment, for starters). Director Lewis Gilbert cleverly mixes comedy and tragedy with a crucial lesson about immorality.
Jude Law stars in the trenchant remake set in New York City and pumped up with giddy, cleverly experimental editing. This story has Alfie (Law), a Don Juan-esque limo driver, speaking directly to the camera as he seduces the lovely ladies of the city. Eventually he's forced to take stock of the damage he's caused, and acknowledge the emptiness at the core of his chosen lifestyle. Playing the role of Alfie requires a fine balancing act from Law--he must be so charming that he seduces both the audience and himself, while also conveying the self-delusion and sadness at the character's core--and Law is up for the challenge, expertly conveying glimpses of the unfathomed depth beneath his polished shallowness. Equally good are his array of conquests, including Marisa Tomei as a single mom, Sienna Miller as a mood-swinging party girl, and Susan Sarandon as a rich older woman. A soundtrack by Mick Jagger and David Stewart (Eurythmics) adds liberal dollops of self-aware rock-and-roll melancholy. Dick Latessa is great as an old man who offers Alfie some sage advice, and Omar Epps plays the screwed-over limo driving buddy.
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