Alfie (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (2004)

I had completely forgotten the 1966 original starring Michael Caine bar the vague memories that it was about a working class Cockney playboy who talked to the camera throughout the movie and that Shelley Winters was at her screaming best in this. Other than that, I had no recollection of the first Alfie.

That's a good thing because this version with Jude Law seems to show the character himself is not dated and all that was needed was to update the women in his life. This is where the extras are a great help as they intersperse the stories of both the 1966 movie and this one to give you a great idea of how each is every so slightly different. I will say one thing: The women in this one are all babes (Marisa Tomei, Nia Long, Jane Krakowski, Sienna Miller and Susan Sarandon) unlike the 1966 one which seemed to focus on the homely rather than the dropdead gorgeous.

Maybe that was the point in 1966 but as far as a moviegoer I want my eye candy!

The movie was much more than I expected. It starts off with Law as the usual playboy type and evolves into something much deeper, very contemporary and gives you far more insight into relationships without devolving into some sort of lame wimpy chick flick.

It's also a very hip and cool looking movie from Alfie's Vespa to Sarandon's pad to Sienna Miller's tres hip 21st century NYC girl cool.

In the end it's Jude Law who pulls the whole thing off with just the right smile or offhand comment that hits the mark in the delivery.

The extras are terrific as beyond the usual commentary tracks and deleted scenes are a look at how the original music for the movie was put together by Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart (having mentioned them the music really did not do a lot for me as it did sound dated like something from the 1970s), a look at the world of Alfie and the women in his life which is where we get the 1966 comparisons often side-by-side onscreen as well as some others which I won't give away here.

Alfie struck me as a most unusual film. I haven't seen the original version featuring Michael Caine, so I went into this film with no expectations as to how things would play out. Things certainly didn't end the way I thought they would - but that it almost surely a good thing. Jude Law's modern Alfie doesn't deserve a fairy tale ending - indeed, such a flowery ending would have betrayed the real meaning of the entire film. Alfie is a charming little devil, but he's the worst kind of man - a womanizer who leaves broken hearts in his wake as he evades commitment and rushes ever onwards to more women, more cheap thrills, and ever more self-satisfaction. It's hard for me to feel too sorry for a guy like this when he eventually discovers that he's nothing but an empty shell and begins to look longingly at the things he doesn't have. He does come to understand exactly what he is by the end of the movie, but I'm not sure he ever reaches the point of redemption. Every time there seems to be some hope that he will change his life, he falls right back into the lifestyle he is supposedly growing tired of. It's important to note that, at the end, he is basically asking "what's it all about?" He still doesn't know - he's been hurt the very way he has hurt so many others, but he never goes beyond the pain to find moral redemption.

Alfie works his way through a number of women in this story: the unhappily married Dorie (Jane Krakowski from Alley McBeal); Julie (Marisa Tomei), the single mother who pretty much starts Alfie wondering about his priorities in life; Lonette (Nia Long), his best friend's girl and ultimately the instrument of Alfie's most painful lesson about his lifestyle; Nikki (Sienna Miller), a somewhat tragic manic-obsessive; and the rich, mature Liz (Susan Sarandon - and, if I'd known she was in this movie, I never would have watched it). When you come right down to it, Alfie is really just a stupid, stupid man who can't even figure out what he should want, yet regrets not having it. I'm not saying he's not intelligent - but he is stupid. No matter how much he wants to change, nothing manages to change him - not a most embarrassing little problem, a health scare involving the favorite part of his body, or even his ultimate realization of how much he has hurt his best friend. The ending is pretty much open-ended, so hope is not lost - but I'm not optimistic for this character, given his track record as shown in this film.

I should clearly state that I think Alfie is a good film - almost a very good film. Jude Law does an excellent job portraying a man who is much more complex than it might seem - and he manages to make all of his little soliloquies to the audience very effective, as they basically provide the insight into whatever soul is lurking behind Alfie's charm and carefree attitude. There's a real, tragically flawed person in there, a man who can't seem to change no matter how much he wants to. Had they wrapped the film's ending up in a pretty little bow, I would have extremely critical of this film. As it is, I seem to like this movie more, the more I reflect upon it - and that's a sign of quality film-making and good story-telling.

Save your time... and about $20. Buy the less expensive original version starring Michael Caine. It is by far, a better film than this remake. Jude Law seems miscast as sleazebag Alfie (though off screen... he is every bit as sleazy... ahem, ahem); and his performance, as the performances of his co-stars are lacking in every aspect of the word. There is no merit to this film. Alfie should NEVER have been remade. I would ONLY recommend the original. Ok? Ok....