Alfie (2004)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Charles Shyer

Writers (WGA):

Bill Naughton (play)
Bill Naughton (earlier screenplay)

Release Date:

5 November 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A player until he got played

Plot:

A cockney womanizer learns the hard way about the dangers of his actions.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Best Friend | British | Womanizer | Single Mother

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Jude Law	...	Alfie
Renée Taylor	...	Lu Schnitman (as Renee Taylor)
Jane Krakowski	...	Dorie
Jeff Harding	...	Phil
Marisa Tomei	...	Julie
Kevin Rahm	...	Terry
Max Morris	...	Max
Omar Epps	...	Marlon
Nia Long	...	Lonette
Gedde Watanabe	...	Wing
Jo Yang	...	Mrs. Wing
Tara Summers	...	Carol
Sam Vincenti	...	Felix
Katherine LaNasa	...	Uta
Claudette Mink	...	Bitter Girl

Also Known As:

Untitled Alfie Remake (USA) (working title)
Untitled Charles Shyer Project (USA) (working title)
What's It All About, Alfie? (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, some language and drug use.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:18SX (DVD) | Malaysia:(Banned) (theatrical) | Germany:12 (f) | Sweden:Btl | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-11 | Iceland:12 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:M18 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40817)

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Director Charles Shyer was inspired by the skinny suits that the Beatles wore in A Hard Day's Night (1964) for Alfie's wardrobe and the brown sweater that Alfie wears in several scenes was Jude Law's own.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: During the scene at the florist's shop (supposedly in downtown Manhattan but filmed in Liverpool), there is a shot looking into the shop from outside. A couple of small Regency-style terraced houses, clearly inappropriate for the film's setting, can be seen reflected in the window.

Quotes:

Alfie: If you ooze masculinity, like some of us do, you have no reason to fear pink.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Have I Got News for You: (#28.7)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Alfie

Sort of a pointless exercise.

The original 'Alfie,' released in 1966, was considered a revelation for its frank and somewhat dark portrait of the life of a cockney rake, and can now be seen as somewhat prophetic, as it predated (and in some ways helped to introduce) the era of 'swinging London' and the sexual revolution. The 2004 'Alfie' seems to exist for no other purpose than to dress Jude Law up in a hip wardrobe and allow him to wink, smirk, and sigh endlessly at the camera as he sleeps his way through a series of likable women he doesn't deserve. There isn't much of a narrative structure here, and while Law is an engaging screen presence, Alfie is a totally unsympathetic lout who deserves his eventual comeuppance.

It's too bad that Bill Naughton wasn't able to update his original story more effectively, because the film is gorgeous to look at. Despite a few unnecessary bits of cleverness (billboards with odd, art-nouveau messages like 'desire' and 'wish', a lot of mod-ish split screen sequences with still photography, etc.), the cinematography is superb, Law looks dashing in his GQ hipster wardrobe, and the ladies--Susan Sarandon, Jane Krakowski, Nia Long, Marisa Tomei, and newcomer Sienna Miller (whom Law apparently dumped his wife for during filming)--are ravishing. The soundtrack is also superb, made up mostly of new tunes by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics fame).

The biggest problem here is that times have changed since the original Alfie: sexual and gender politics don't allow for a protagonist who bed-hops and deceives women with impunity to be cast as heroic or even remotely sympathetic. In the end, the film seems hollow, like a nearly two-hour long visual fashion spread (interestingly, 'Vanity Fair' editor Graydon Carter has a cameo in the film). Beautiful to look at, but ultimately it's just pretty trash.