A stylish reinvention of the 1960s classic Alfie, this film is a humorous, sexy and often touching tale of Alfie (Jude Law), a philosophical womaniser who is forced to question his seemingly carefree existence.
Special Agent Matti
The 1960s in London was a time of stylish sexuality. It marked a psychological break from the grim austerity of World War II. It was the flowering of the hippy movement. The dawn of the Age of Aquarius. Carnaby Street girls. Swinging London. Mary Quant. Mini skirts. Goldmember. It's no wonder that a movie like the original Alfie hit the screens in 1966. It was saucy. It was cheeky. It was naughty.
Millennial New York doesn't carry the same power that London did in the 60s. London was the centre of the (hip) world. New York is ground zero. London was as much a character as Alfie himself: wild, a little crazy, sexy but with a dark side tucked away behind the grinning front. You can probably tell that I was disappointed by the remake, despite Jude Laws' sexy, naughty boyishness. Remaking a great movie never results in a better movie, just a newer one (take Gus van Sant's Psycho as a case in point). Alfie v.2005 adds nothing to the story of young men who root about town (to say nothing of towns about which young men root). It also makes the raffish eponymous (check your calendar) character a SNAG. Oy. The perfect inspiration for a new Alfie would be Robbie Williams. You could put his (tabloid) life on the big screen and come up with a vibrant, sexy, dark, funny comedy.
See Alfie with your boyfriend (or girlfriend) and you'll pass a couple of hours pleasantly but you won't have your socks knocked off.
M (Sexual references, low level coarse language)
105 minutes (1:45 hours)
Film: 20 January 2005
DVD rental: 19 May 2005
VHS rental: 19 May 2005
