Alfie (2004)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Sorry, this movie sucks

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Alfie is a cocky Englishman enjoying his life in New York. Life seems good to him; he has a girlfriend but that doesn't stop him sleeping with other women who he dumps at the first sign that they want any sort of commitment. Then things start to go wrong; his girlfriend decides that she has had enough, he sleeps with his best friend's girlfriend then he finds that he can no longer perform in the way that matters most to him… in bed. This leaves him questioning his life style. He finds another girlfriend but the longer they are together the more he longs for somebody else; he then thinks he's found 'the one' only to learn that she has the same attitude to men that he had always had for women.I can't compare this to the original film as it is a long time since I watched that. Without that nagging comparison I found this to be an enjoyable film. Jude Law did a fine job as Alfie making him likable even though he is clearly a bit of a cad. I liked how most of the dialogue was aimed directly at the audience in a way that not only breaks the fourth wall it completely removes it. Some may consider the film to be somewhat misogynistic thanks to Alfie's one track mind when it comes to women; thankfully we see that attitude has consequences. The rest of the cast impresses too; most notably Sienna Miller and Susan Sarandon. Overall I found this to be rather fun although not a must see unless you are a Jude Law fan.

With A-lfie, i start to watch (and so review) my web movies. Just a note about the practice because the truth isn't exactly what you can hear. First, with the ticket price getting more and more expensive, movies lost their popular audience. Next, the copyright is actually perverted as art isn't for consumption (it's for enlighten) and culture must not become the next oil power all the more that its numeric nature makes it inexhaustible. In practice, to buy the DVD, you must find it and sometimes, it's impossible. When i tried online shopping, my packages were stolen and the post office wasn't totally white. As i'm deaf, i need subtitles and a lot of times, the subtitles are lacking, especially the french movies! At last, to watch a web movie on TV, it requires a lot of expertise as the TV, movies, subtitles must work all together. It asks for patience and time so it's not as simply as clicking on the mouse!About "Alfie" now, the movie got me mixed feelings: the idea of having a character interacts with the audience is very original, but to be great, the character should be interesting. Choosing a playboy bachelor played by Jude Law was not my cup of tea. Law is among my list of unbearable as he highly and irritatingly uses and abuses his good look. At least, it was the perfect pick for the part because Alfie has just the kind of life that exasperates me: it's empty, superficial, dishonest with only time for parties, drinking, getting stoned and catch as much babes as possible.On the other side, Alfie says true things about life: sometimes, you can do good but you are misinterpreted. Unexpected problems lurk always on your path, "uh-oh" attitudes exist in everyone but unlike the movie, we must prepare and not throw away the person. The best one was that a single mum can have accessories that can be irresistible: i knew this situation and i ended caring more for the kid than his difficult mother...If NYC was a good location to tell his story, it's a pity that the colors are quite ugly. Maybe the most silly moment was when he prefers to spend time with boring and old Sarandon instead of trying building something with cute and considerate Sienna. Dumping her on a cold rainy night and not helping with words or with her suitcases is the ultimate insult and i wonder if they really done the thing like this in their real life.

Star vehicle for the hot-and-smoldering-at-the-time Jude Law. "Alfie" is of course, a remake of the 60's movie starring Mchael Caine (who was just starting out). Doesn't really hold a candle to it, since the topics and sensibilities towards women have certainly changed, but Law and Company have a go at it, and it's pretty good, entertaining even. Jude Law certainly does have the acting chops, but Alfie does get tiring after awhile, with Alfie just riding to one girl adventure after another, learning about life along the way. The ending is a bit unsatisfactory though. Is Alfie happy? I thought he was learning about life and wanting to settle down. Oh well, that's Alfie for you I guess.

There's no other way to describe this person, Alfie. A Brit ex-pat who finds his way to one of the major urban hubs in the US, and goes about bedding women without rhyme or reason as to what he's doing, nor why he's doing it. Other than he likes what he does regardless of how anybody else feels. Truly self centered.But how does a person operate like this? Some are sociopaths. They've got that reptilian thing going on to reproduce, and have the intellect of a human mind that allows them to fixate and interact with mainstream society, but without regards as to how others feel. It's not a disease so much as a default in the neurological makeup of a particular type of human mind.But, let's suppose Alfie in this film is a normal human being. Then how is it that he's able to jump from bed to bed to bed without remorse or second thought as to whom is getting hurt in the process. How does it work? We're not really sure, other than Alfie is incapable of seeing past the bridge of his nose where his interests and other people's feelings are concerned. If this is the case, and Alfie realizes his faults after he's utterly betrayed so many friends and potential soul mates for the sake of a nights pleasure, then he truly is a scumbag. One might call him a type of human being that is incapable of existence. That is it almost seems impossible to conceive of a human being, truly and fully functional, one capable of empathy, acting the way the main character does in this story. I mean, it can't happen, right? But hey, it's Hollywood, so we give it a pass. Instead of questioning the plausibility of the scenario, we allow the films production values (outstanding in this case) to shine and wash over us. We take in Jude Law's performance as he cavorts with the opposite sex, and for a brief moment almost desire the life he has. But this is a parable about consequences, not one about male fantasies. Yet even parables fall into the realm of fantasy, as reality for real "Alfies" falls into a deep shade of gray as to their ultimate fate, and as to whether or not they learned a lesson from their foibles.I'm not a fan of the film, but I like it as a film. I think it's exceptionally well shot, well staged, and particularly well acted. It's a story regarding an element of society that allows their loins to dictate their actions and ultimate psychology, with perhaps a subconscious notion that if only people would see things their way, then it would be a whole lot better world. Untrue of course. Regardless of our deepest erotic fantasies, what really guides us is our desire for common decency and a degree of respect for our thoughts, feelings and relationships. But this seems to be beyond Alfie's capability.Truth be told I knew an "Alfie" at one time (not me) who led pretty much the life this Alfie led, right down to betraying his best friend in exact same way as depicted in the film (again, not me, but I knew the parties involved). I wondered if that person ever learned a lesson like Alfie. Probably not.If I had one complaint about this film, and I'm not sure that I do, it's that there's little in the way of a Greek chorus, or a close friend acting as such, telling us Alfie's ultimate fate. That's perhaps too didactic, but it almost felt like the film needed that. I also felt the film needed to be accessible to younger viewers. The language and sex scenes prohibit this, but in our day and age it seems to me that young people need this kind of warning.I suppose the big question is this; will Alfie ever change? One doubts it. But then again the film doesn't present any afterword. We have to decide for ourself what Alfie makes of his world.An interesting watch.