Alfie

Starring: Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Nia Long, Omar Epps, Jane Krakowski, Sienna Miller, Susan Sarandon
Directed by: Charles Shyer
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
2004

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A womanizer (Jude Law) lives his life juggling women, but getting close to no one. When life throws him a curveball, he begins to wonder if he will end up alone.

Review:

Tim: I liked Alfie and I wanted to like it even more. It is definitely a stylish, entertaining, fun movie that actually has some substance to it as well. While watching it, I got involved in the characters and story, and I thought it could be a really special movie. Unfortunately, it starts to waver in the third act, ultimately ending in a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion. This is a good movie that could have been better.

The cast is pretty incredible, though. Jude Law was terrific as Alfie. He is at his charismatic, suave best. It was fun to watch a man so full of himself and so confident, but recognize that under that cool surface, he was sowing the seeds of his own destruction. Law takes the character of Alfie and makes him someone who impresses us and despresses us, all at the same time. He was a real, complex character, and that is due to Law.

He has some good help in the film, too. Marisa Tomei improves every film she's in, and that's true here. She was enjoyable in the film. Nia Long (where has she been?) gives a good performance as well, and offers some of the more powerful moments of the film. I like Omar Epps, but he didn't have a meaty enough role here. Jane Krakowski was fun in her small role. I don't really like Sienna Miller, but I thought she gave a decent performance here. It wasn't exactly strong or good, but I can't really fault it, either. Susan Sarandon was a nice touch, and her acting talent certainly helps the film. Each of these actors brought something different to the film, and populate it with characters we are interesting in seeing. This helps the film immensely.

The story is pretty simple, but powerful. We watch a man who loves women, yet is determined never to commit or let anyone get close to him. He's perfectly happy with his worldview- until his life starts to change, and his outlook sends him down the wrong path. As his life slowly falls apart around him, we watch him struggle with whether to change his beliefs, or stick with them, no matter what. Alfie is a pretty fascinating character. While the basics of the story are simple, there are enough nice subplots to keep us interesting. Director Charles Shyer does a good job of keeping the plot moving.

I really, really enjoyed the film about to the part where Sienna Miller comes in. I'm not necessarily blaming Miller, but her entrance is when the film bogs down a bit. Several of the scenes felt redundant, and I felt like we knew where the film was going, but it took forever to get there. The movie could have likely used some better editing at this part. The movie meanders around for the last half hour before concluding in an unsatisfying manner. I didn't hate the ending at all, I just think it needed to be stronger. The ending made me shrug and murmur, "That's it?" I absolutely respect leaving a movie open-ended, but that can be done the right way, where we feel satisfied with what we've seen. This movie misses that mark at the end.

Despite this, Alfie is still a good movie. It features a strong cast giving good performances. It's funny, but it also makes you think. This is an entertaining, fun movie and I enjoyed it. Sure, it absolutely had opportunities to be better, but it was still a worthwhile film to see.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Alfie (1966), The Holiday, Sleuth