Alfie (Widescreen)

Having recently seen Lewis Gilbert's 1966 film, I discovered that if you took the above paragraph and replaced 'Will Freeman' with 'Alfie Elkins', 'Hugh Grant' with 'Michael Caine', and "About a Boy" with "Alfie", the summary still holds true.

Unusually bereft of story, "Alfie" is still a highly entertaining picture. In place of a narrative, it concentrates on the character of its protagonist. And what a character he is! Alfie Elkins is selfish and outlandish, rude, mean, and arrogant, hurtful, harmful, and egotistical, immature, insensitive, and ignorant. But on the other side of the coin he is charming and thoughtful, dashing, intoxicating, and witty, funny, fun, and fearless, cheeky, cheery and, ultimately, caring. A mess of contradictions in a dapper suit, Alfie is the only interesting character (save for Shelley Winters' beguiling Ruby and Denholm Elliott's pragmatic abortionist) in a film populated by bored housewives and worrisome husbands.

Originally written for the stage, "Alfie" retains a lot of its theatrical qualities. The trick of breaking down the fourth wall (wherein Alfie spends a lot of time looking at and speaking to the camera), more common in the theatre, was almost revolutionary when put on film. Sure, Groucho Marx and George Burns got a lot of mileage out of this technique, but whenever anybody talks about "Alfie", this seems to be the first thing brought up. Probably because it works beautifully. Instead of straight voice-over-narration, a technique that more often than not is distracting and pointless, Alfie gets to have an intimate dialogue with his audience. It's a great platform for expounding on his life philosophies and making casual observations.

His inner thoughts are a scream. When confronted by a close-up view of Shelley Winters' cleavage, and told that she is twice a widow, Alfie can't help but remarking about her husbands, "I think I know what they died of." Or, when pressured by a lady friend to tie the knot -- "Maybe we should go through with it," she says -- Alfie nihilistically replies, "I've never been through with anything in my whole life." A wry smile passes over his lips, and his on to the next escapade. He makes no excuses for the selfishness in his life. "What do look nice when you get up close to it?" he says, unapologetically.

But there's a darker underbelly to Alfie's world, one that the film is intent on slowly showing us. One early scene has him schmoozing a young lady with all the respect in the world. To her face. To the audience, he refers to her with the condescending pronoun 'it'. As in: "It will go home happy." This kind of insult rolls easily off his tongue, while delineating what he thinks is one of his core tenets. "I don't believe in making anyone unhappy," he reiterates later on. He may not believe in it, but he does it. All the time. When a situation appears to be closing in on him, Alfie bares his claws, the better to defend himself against the unhappiness that human entanglements can bring. He's only happy when shielding himself from unhappiness. It's a sheltered existence, doomed to fall in on him. And it does. During a particularly tense moment, when his comfort is needed, Alfie is rendered useless. But at least he knows it. "My understanding of women only goes as far as the pleasure. When it comes to the pain I'm like every other bloke: I don't wanna know." It's this kind of self-awareness that makes Alfie, if not likable, than at least understandable. He has drawn a metaphorical curtain over the harsher aspects of his life, for he knows he is incapable of dealing with them. In one of the film's most powerful scenes, however, a literal curtain shields him from a horrific sight. He is warned not to go through it, but does anyway. He can't handle what he sees, and breaks down in tears. It is a terribly powerful moment.

Michael Caine, in was one of his first breakout roles, is a dominating presence as Alfie. Every note he strikes is perfect, from the controlled stillness of the film's first half (he rarely blinks or shows discernable expressions, the better to show Alfie's apathy towards those around him), to the subtle intonations of Alfie's inner torture in the film's second half. Caine, a wizard at showing dry wit and charm, is in his element here, for those are Alfie's two stocks in trade. Only in his early thirties when the film was made, and with his boyish strawberry blond locks intact, Caine has the look and feel of the dashing, handsome young man Alfie is supposed to be. You always believe that he is the kind of man every woman wants to go to bed with, even after a round of devious verbal abuse.

A lot darker and more disturbing than I'd expected (it deals in a non-nonsense manner with such issues as infidelity, abortion, insanity, and poverty), "Alfie" is still a film easily enjoyed. You'll marvel at the wit and wisdom of the main character and at Michael Caine's note-perfect lead performance. While a tad overlong (the same points could have been made if Alfie had just two or three lady friends, rather than five or so; half an hour or so could have been shaved off its 114-minute running time), it never ceases to be engrossing, important, and entertaining.

Vivien Merchant ("The Maids", "Accident", "Frenzy") radiates prim carnality as Lily. She is easily the most "proper" lady in the film--and subsequently saddled with a sick husband and three kids. She's too much for Alfie--and far too hungry. Shelley Winters is a scream as the hostess with the mostest. She commands the screen with as much veracity as Caine. Her fangs prove to be a bit too much for Alfie once they are bared. Denholm Elliot as the abortionist has a few minutes of screentime--but he makes the most of them with a solid, commanding turn.

This is exquisite entertainment. It gets terribly dark in places but such is life. 5/5.

Overall, a fine film.