A film review by Craig J. Koban |
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ALFIE
2004, R, 106 mins. Alfie: Jude Law / Julie: Marisa Tomei
/ Marlon: Omar Epps / Lonette: Nia Long / Dorie: Jane Krakowski
/ Nikki: Sienna Miller /
Liz: Susan Surandon |
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“I myself subscribe more to the European philosophy of life, my priorities leaning towards wine, women and...well... that's about it.”
-Alfie
There
is a droll little moment during the beginning of the 2004 remake of ALFIE
where the title character, played with hedonistic and spirited glee by
Jude Law, reveals to the audience that he has a vocabulary calendar and
that everyday he tries to learn a new word in order to become more
dignified, insightful, and intelligent.
One particular morning his “word” of the day is “ostentatious”
and on a later day his word is "resiliency".
Funny, but in hindsight it’s too bad that he never came
across the word “monogamy” or “empathy.”
2004
may seem like the year of Jude Law, to shamelessly and loosely paraphrase
Chris Rock’s monologue at this year’s Academy Awards.
He starred in no fewer than six films, some were definitely
agreeable (THE AVIATOR
and
CLOSER,
for certain), others were passably entertaining (SKY
CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW), while others were largely
forgettable (I HEART HUCKABEE’S and
LEMONY
SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS).
Late 2004 saw Law in the remake of the 1966 Michael Caine film of
the same name, and it truly is an example of an actor carrying a role, if
not the entire film.
Law encapsulates the role of Alfie with the right balance of
effective self-importance, egotism, male bravado, and, surprisingly,
sensitivity and tenderness.
He wisely does not try to imitate Caine’s earlier work, but
rather reinterprets it for modern audience sensibilities and makes
the character wholly and uniquely his own.
It’s one of his best, most engaging performances.
I
have only vague, elusive recollections of the original 1966 film.
In that film, as I recall, Michael Caine’s Alfie lived in modern
London and occupied a world that was sort of on the brink of the sexual
revolution.
His Alfie was a character that was forever swimming through the
oftentimes-tumultuous waters that is the opposite sex, and his willingness
to be smug, coy, and utterly uncompromising was kind of tragic and sad, in
a way.
He was a man that slept around religiously with a diversity of
women, never placing demands upon them nor himself.
The terms “one night stand” was an acceptable fact of life for
him, but despite the fact that he was, to quote a certain International
Man of Mystery, “having loads of unprotected, none- monogamous sex in
a consequence-free environment,” you eventually began to gain the
impression that he was never as "sound as a pound."
Despite the fact that he was smiling and cocky on the outside,
he was developing a sense of ambivalence and gloom on the inside.
ALFIE
made Caine a star, and now Jude Law tackles the tricky role in the new
film, which director Charles Shyer manages to stay faithful to the
original while updating it for contemporary attitudes and tastes, while
still trying to tell a simple film about karma and the golden rule.
Shyer, however, places this '04 Alfie in New York instead of
London, maybe in an effort to exploit how a charming British chap may
have an upper hand in the charisma department in the midst of American
men.
I guess, when you think about it, and I have been told this by many
a female, ladies love accents, and they sure gravitate to Alfie, despite
the fact that he is such an unmitigated SOB.
That
sort of represents the power (and miracle) of Law’s work here.
His portrayal of Alfie kind of reminded me of the performance by
Julia Roberts in MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING.
In that film Roberts, playing up her smile and good-natured
outwardly appearance, did absolutely everything conceivable to sabotage
the marriage of a man whom she is best friends with, but secretly loves.
Her actions are deplorable and had the consequences of destroying
lives for the worse, and she did so in selfish and callous ways.
Yet, despite all that, we nevertheless are attracted to her and
have a sort of stubborn empathy for her cause.
Alfie is much the same character – we know he does harm to others
without a care in the world, but there’s no denying that he’s
appealing, affable, and pleasant minded, and when he reaches a point where
he honestly questions his relative worth, he inspires our sympathies.
The
new film takes place in 2004 New York and subsequently carries a
substantial amount of extra baggage to it.
Whereas in the 1960’s promiscuity was kind of an unwritten norm
and the only real consequence of unprotected sex was pregnancy and maybe
abortion, in the contemporary
setting of Law’s ALFIE, more lurid consequences loom overhead
constantly.
In an era when sexually transmitted diseases are commonplace, the
actions of Alfie have an inherent darkness and gloom to them that they
lacked in the original.
In the ’66 version his actions have the power to hurt others, but
in the new version he really has the ability to harm both others and
himself.
It’s that extra layer of complexity and dimension that makes for
a more dangerous world in the new ALFIE than one may otherwise think of.
Yet,
Alfie is still ostensibly the same character as his 60’s cousin.
Yes, he is still a daft Brit with all things women on the mind.
He spends his days and evenings as a limo driver, which kind of
gives him wonderful access to all sorts of women that he is carefully and
tactfully praying on.
Alfie, being the perfect womanizer and self-described fashion-whore
that he is, has the distinct ability to go after every pretty FBB that he
comes in contact with, with relative ease and success (FBB = face, boobs,
bum, as he proudly explains to us in first person monologue form to the
audience, a device that I normally loathe in films, but it works
effectively here).
He is a bit of a different textbook narcissist in this version,
being a slave to corporate ideals of what he should look like and behave.
Law’s Alfie looks like what all indulgent and spoiled young men aspire
to be – a carbon copy of the models off of GQ.
Law’s Alfie is smooth, better dressed, and more confident than
ever, and reveals do's and don’ts about members of the opposite
sex, kind of like how they would be written about in Men’s Health
Magazine.
Anyway,
Alfie does meet and has his way with a number of gorgeous and assorted
women.
We meet Dorie (Jane Krakowski) who is a lonely married woman, Liz
(Susan Surandon, still looking great at 50 plus) a successful, rich, and
eccentric businesswoman who sort of mirrors Alfie in many ways, and Nikki
(Sienna Miller) a gorgeous and vivacious model, the type of great blond
bombshell that places no serious needs on him (in essence, the absolute
woman of Alfie’s desires).
Oh, there is also Lonette (Nia Long) who is a girlfriend of
Alfie’s best friend Marlon (Omar Epps), a woman that you probably have
figured out by now has been dealt with in ways only Alfie deems as
appropriate.
Then
there is Julie (Marisa Tomei), who may be the only really well rounded and
nice woman in Alfie’s life.
She is a simple and good-natured single mom with a son to care for
(single moms with kids have unnecessary “accessories” in Alfie’s
eyes).
The interesting thing that segregates her from the rest of
Alfie’s pursuits is that she wants Alfie all to herself and refuses to
share him with anyone.
Most of the other women (Surandon’s character, especially) only
see Alfie as Alfie sees them, but in Julie’s eyes she wants more.
She is unaware of Alfie’s philandering ways until later in the
film.
Alfie’s major moral dilemma is that he truly likes Julie, and
more importantly, really cares for her kid as well.
Yet, Julie makes an assertive choice and decides to move on to
something and someone better, and when Alfie tries to swoop in and use his
obligatory wit to win her back, she boldly and assuredly shuts him out.
That’s
kind of the turning point for Alfie as a character, when he realizes that
he is surrounded by and uses women that he really has no sentimental
attachment to whatsoever.
This leads him down an existentialist funk.
He begins to realize the errors of his ways with women and
especially in the cold-hearted and often cruel ways that he has been
treating them.
It is the discovery of these hard truths that awakens Alfie to
further questions that we all deal with constantly.
He begins to see that women are no longer an easy to hill to climb
up to and conquer.
Julie turns him down, and rightfully so.
The cunning businesswoman, in one key moment, reveals to Alfie that
she is sleeping with someone else behind Alfie’s back, for reasons no
more complicated than he is “younger” than him.
Then there is Lonette and without going too far and revealing what
happens with her, she occupies a moment in the film where Alfie tries to
reacquaint himself with her only to find out that the consequences of
their one night together are not easily forgettable. So, what’s it all about? ALFIE represents yet another great remake from 2004, one where the film tiptoes between hilarity, pathos, sadness, and sweetness. What’s truly refreshing about the film is that it does not pander to the audience and go out of its way to appease them at the end and give them a happy conclusion. By the end of the film Alfie has indeed contemplated the repercussions of his actions and thinks about changing his ways, but he truly does not find happiness, but rather a sense of inner humility and pride, in a melancholy manner of speaking. The film has a sort of tantalizing poignancy and ambiguity to it in the end. Will Alfie go on and re-evaluate his life and change it for the better, or will he continue down the path of unflinching sexual exploits? I am not sure, but the film does let us know that he’s at least contemplating his life, and despite the fact that he leaves in the end with one of those self-confident and swaggering smiles on his face, it’s a bit different this time – now you get a sense that he’s really sad underneath it all. |
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