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Alfie (2004)
Release Date:

MPAA Rating:
R

Rating Reason:
For sexual content, some language and drug use

Genre:
Comedy, Romance

Starring:

Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Omar Epps, Nia Long, Jane Krakowski, Sienna Miller, Susan Sarandon

Written By:
Elaine Pope, Charles Shyer

Director:
Charles Shyer

Official Site:
Alfie (2004)

Synopsis:

Yeah, it’s true that Alfie Elkins epitomizes the swinging playboy bachelor archetype… But, underneath the charm, the bravado, the swagger… there’s another side… a man who, as Mick Jagger’s lyrics for “Alfie” so aptly describe... “won’t let the love in.”

“Alfie” is the provocative tale of a philosophical womanizer (Jude Law) who is forced to question his seemingly carefree existence. Ultimately, his freewheeling lifestyle begins to slowly unravel in this chic, sexy, stylistic cinematic experience.

Playing the killer ladies’ man Alfie is two-time Academy Award and three-time Golden Globe nominee Jude Law. Joining Law are Oscar winners Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon, who portray two of the many “birds” who succumb to Alfie’s charms.

The original “Alfie” captured a blend of romp and reality that was shocking and innovative in its time, and introduced a young Michael Caine to the world. In this contemporary re-invention, Alfie is now an irresistible Londoner who has taken up residence in Manhattan, where he hopes to make his fortune -- and make love to as many beautiful women as possible. The sophistication of New York City is the perfect setting for Alfie, who knows that when it comes to shagging birds, it’s all about one thing… “location, location, location.” Surrounded by an abundance of gorgeousness and diversity,” Alfie takes every opportunity to conquer all the women he can, whenever he can.

Alfie Elkins (Jude Law) works as a limousine driver, chauffeuring the wealthy through the streets of Manhattan, and occasionally making love to his lonely female clients in the backseat. Though he has his ambitions, he wants only enough to get by, his primary focus being the pleasures of life -- without any of the responsibilities.

Alfie (2004) | Preview

"What's it all about?"

ELISABETH LEITCH

Nearly 40 years ago, after over an hour of broken relationships and hard lessons about life, Michael Caine stared at movie audiences and posed the question: "What's it all about?" The movie Alfie ended and Joss Stone began to sing the movie's title track-"What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live? What's it all about when we sort it out? Are we here to take more than we give?" The credits rolled, the music faded, and the screen went black. Nearly 40 years later, however, the same song that asked Caine's Alfie what life was all about has begun to play again as a new movie hits screens introducing Alfie to movie audiences for the second time, this time as Jude Law.

While times, men, women, and relationships have changed since 1966, Law's Alfie follows a very similar storyline to Caine's. From the moment both Alfies come on screen, both men quickly establish themselves as womanizers, ladies' men, players, and men with extreme commitment issues. More than just a picture of a man behaving in a way that would hopefully cause most people to cringe, however, both movies look deeper into the dysfunctional relationships Alfie creates for himself and push Alfie to figure out what he is actually missing. Alfie does his best to avoid commitment, love, and dependence of any sort, but, in they end, both Caine and Law's Alfie unwittingly seem to find themselves missing and desiring those very things they avoided.

Opening with a shot of a superman figurine and Alfie's morning recitation from his word of the day calendar (this day-"ostentatious"), the movie wastes no time quickly establishing Alfie's value of the superficial and, even more so, the effort he exerts to keep from becoming committed in any way. In a casual relationship with the married Dorie (Jane Krakowski) at the same time that he has what could be a stable and committed relationship with single mother Julie (Marisa Tomei), Alfie shows a desire to almost destroy anything that even hints at commitment. When he comes home to Julie, Alfie barely does anything to erase suspicions that he is seeing another woman. Replying with a simple "Thanks baby," to Julie's "I love you," Alfie reveals both his avoidance of love and tendency to take and never give. Even in his relationship with Dorie, Alfie is ready to call it off completely as soon as Dorie "wants a little more than [he] can give."

At the same time that Alfie avoids anything remotely like love, it seems, that even at the beginning of the movie, love is a feeling Alfie possesses. In Caine's Alfie, Alfie's relationship with the mother of his child reveals a desire to love through his attachment to his son. When the woman leaves him and marries another man, Alfie displays a sense of loss as he watches the other man take over his role as father. In Law's Alfie, the sadness that appears on Alfie's face when he passes Julie and her son playing together after they have broken up reveals a similar attachment to a child who isn't even his own.

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