Alfie
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Movie Reviews of Alfie
Movie Review: Sex in the City
Summary: 5 Stars
In the late 1960s, a cultural critic made the following prediction regarding the direction of male/female relationships in the age of The Pill. "First consider how easily... [birth control]... could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings--and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation--need incentives to keep the moral law... Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection."
Alfie does nothing but reduce women to mere instruments for the satisfaction of his own desires. His lack of consideration for his partners' well-being could be breathtakingly cruel. Alfie seduces the wife of a hospitalized man, a man who lives for his wife's occasional visits. Alfie leaves the same woman alone, and in extreme physical and emotional pain, after she undergoes the illegal abortion of his own child. This extreme callousness was not caused by the The Pill, but was made possible by The Pill, a chemical which was approved as an oral contraceptive in Britain in 1962, four years prior to the making of this movie. This correlation is not coincidental. While evil and selfishness pre-date the Sixties' sexual revolution, widespread, and culturally-accepted promiscuity, did not.
It is possible to argue that Alfie didn't use The Pill, since two of his conquests became pregnant. But this is improbable, since Alfie was nothing if not self-centered, and he certainly did not want to bear the responsibilities of fatherhood (as evidenced by the abortion). It is far more likely that these pregnancies were "accidents."
But what explains Alfie's inhumanity and cruelty? Aside from The Fall, one can view Alfie as the product of a post-Christian society, a society in the early stages of moral decay. While both men and women here have justly judged Alfie to be a vile misogynist (and misanthropist -he doesn't hesitate to steal the girlfriend of a friend), how many people here can honestly say that they are equally appalled by the promiscuity and vacuity of the women portrayed in "Sex in the City"? Is there any difference? Certainly not in the behavior of the main characters. To quote a Doobie Brother's album title, "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits." The only, and enormously important difference between the two dramas, is that "Alfie" presents the other side of the "Sex in the City" story --a very dark side-- but a very real side, and, sadly, the dominant side. It is this adherence to truth that sets "Alfie" apart from most sex farces, and it is what makes "Alfie" the canary in the coal mine regarding the on-rushing sexual revolution.
If you haven't guessed already, the "cultural critic" noted above, was Pope Paul VI, cited from the almost universally reviled encyclical, "Humanae Vitae (On Human Life)." Perhaps we should have listened.
Movie Review: An Extraordinary Film - Superb Acting - Which Holds Up Today
Summary: 5 Stars
London was swinging in 1966. Mod fashion and the mini skirt were in vogue, discos featured the sound of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Sean Connery starred in the latest James Bond 007 flick, drawing in crowds at the cinema, the counter culture was defining itself, the availability of medically prescribed contraceptives helped usher in the Sexual Revolution, even though Women's Lib was still a ways off - and Director Lewis Gilbert's "Alfie" was released. It turned out to be the most talked-about, controversial film of the year, launching Michael Caine as an international film star, and earning five Oscar nominations. Although "Alfie" is very much a period piece, I saw it again recently and was tremendously surprised at how well it holds up, especially in the context of its time.
Michael Caine's Alfie Elkins is the ultimate ladykiller, a sexual predator who approaches women and relationships the way a serial killer homes-in on a victim. He objectifies females, and many of his women are, indeed, victim-like in their neediness and vulnerability. This 30-something misogynistic, working-class, low-class playboy epitomizes narcissism, as he travels from "bird" to "bird," single women and married alike, without responsibility or care, and without malice. And then he moves on to his next conquest. Michael Caine is superb and very believable as the reckless lover with the Cockney accent. His hard-core arrogance and brutal honesty, (with his monologues to the audience), are chilling and, at times, funny - but we're talking about very dark humor. This is a cold and distant man. Not to get too deep into psychology here, but Michael Caine is able to bring the depth of a damaged person to his outwardly cool cad of a character.
The talented Mr. Caine couldn't pull-off this performance alone, however, so credit must be given to his supporting cast. Caine's counterparts are extremely credible, even by today's much more feminist and politically correct standards. These women are not Playboy Bunny types. A few of them are almost plain, and there is no cleavage except for the abundance of Shelly Winters.' Gilda (Julia Foster), is the working class woman, desperately in love with Alfie, who bears him a son out of wedlock. Although he states from the start that the baby is not his problem, he shows more affection to the child than he does to all his women combined. Vivien Merchant is excellent as Lily, the drab, lonely, married woman whom Alfie seduces and impregnates. She winds up having an abortion and, I must say, that the scenes surrounding this traumatic event are shocking in their emotional intensity, even in today's world. Annie, (Jane Asher) is the forlorn hitchhiker Alfie picks up and takes home to be his house maid, among other services. He winds up referring to her as "it." Shelly Winters is Ruby the vulgar older woman who dumps Alfie for a younger man.
I watched a double feature of this 1966 version of "Alfie" with Michael Caine, and Alfie, 2005 with Jude Law. I was curious to compare the two movies. The only comment I will make here, because I believe it is pertinent, is that although I like Jude Law as an actor, the remake is nowhere near as effective as the original - which I highly recommend.
JANA.
Movie Review: An unforgettable and quite beautiful look at the soul of a man...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have not seen the Jude Law vehicle that brought this film to my attention. I never really had any desire to. I like Law, but the remake looked rather stale (and the reviews didn't help) so I stayed away. HOWEVER, I didn't even know that this film existed until trailers for that remake started popping up so I thank them for that. I researched this Caine vehicle shortly thereafter and have since purchased it and relish in it on many occasions.
It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me mad; it makes me all sorts of everything.
`Alfie' tells the story of, you guessed it, Alfie, a womanizer who relishes in a life of leisure. He drifts aimlessly from one woman to another, treating them horribly and yet they never leave him because he is so, well, charming. The film really takes the most pivotal chunk of Alfie's life and serves it to the audience. In this `chunk' we see Alfie become a father, squander that opportunity, get sick, betray a friend by messing around with his emotionally fragile wife, seek out an abortionist, fall for an older woman (who proves to be his equal) and finally coming to a certain understanding of his own state and where he needs to strive to be.
The film is a comedy (not sure why the Globes considered it a Drama) but it has a very mature and dramatic tone to it. There are some mature themes (like the ones I just mentioned) that make this film so much more than just a meaningless comedy about debauchery.
And then there is Michael Caine.
This year was very rich in the best actor category, but for me this year was all about Caine. His riveting portrayal of a charismatic yet emotionally stunted man was just spot-on perfection. I love the repartee he has with the audience (he spends a great chuck of time conversing with you directly) and the way he never loses his character's grounding. He has the comedic wit down pat, the sarcastic egotism down pat, the emotionally restricted development down pat, not to mention the devastating aftermath of shattered realizations down pat (that scene, in the kitchen, hand over mouth...O.M.G.). It is a perfectly executed and completely well-rounded performance.
The supporting cast (that slew of seductive women) is also very well used here. I'm shocked that Julia Foster (who would win my supporting actress award this year) was not singled out. I know that Merchant had the weightier role, but Foster was just astonishingly good as the mother of Alfie's child. She perfectly matched Caine every step of the way. Shelly Winters was also quite effective (I just love her) as the seductive Ruby. In fact, everyone here is just wonderful and they all completely understand and develop their roles in ways that elevate this movie beautifully, beings that each character adds a layer or varying facet to this films overall composition.
In the end, SEE THIS MOVIE. It is a multi-layered dramedy that is a bag of mixed emotions complete with stellar performances and a genuinely engaging, original and memorable script.
Movie Review: Caine's Launching Pad
Summary: 5 Stars
"Alfie" proved to be Michael Caine's launching pad to international stardom with the film's 1966 release and subsequent rave notices, occurring one year after he made his starring debut in "The Ipcress File" playing Len Deighton's colorfully unconventional British agent Harry Palmer.Director Lewis Gilbert is to be given tremendous credit in using the successful technique from Irish playwright Bill Naughton's successful London West End play of having the male star Alfie speak directly to the audience, in the process revealing his lack of character and thorough one-sidedness in his evaluation of personal relationships with women. The naysayers sought to convince Gilbert that the soliloquy is better left to stage drama and will not work in the cinema. The result was that some of Caine's most engaging moments came when he spoke directly to the camera in his Cockney tone, replete with lower middle class slang.
The film was released in the sexually liberated sixties, revealing the flip side of what happens when a selfish man pursues pleasure at all costs. When Caine's affair with Julia Foster results in the birth of a son he takes great pride in being a father, but not to the point where he is willing to marry her and assume full responsibilities of fatherhood. Instead he visits his son, provides him with gifts, and wheels him around London in a baby carriage. When Foster accepts the proposal of marriage from a sincere man she does not love, but who loves her, Caine cries foul and feels he has been mistreated.
After a temporary lung illness confines Caine to a sanatorium he has an affair with the wife of a friend he meets inside who is recovering from tuberculosis,impregnating her. The scene where an abortion is performed by Denholm Elliott is done with a grim and gripping realism. It is Elliott's sole scene in the film and he makes it count.
The cocky Caine ultimately receives his just desserts from the irrepressible Shelley Winters after engaging in selfish conduct with numerous women. He decides that he would like to pursue the relationship with wealthy American Winters on an extended level. When he arrives at her flat he discovers a young man in his twenties with a guitar sitting silently in another room. When Caine asks in a wounded tone just what this young man has that he doesn't, she coolly responds, "He's younger than you." She then asks him for the key she had given him to her apartment during a more blissful period in their relationship.
After his rejection by Winters, Caine stands on Thames Embankment on a quiet evening looking perplexed, his only companion a stray dog who likes his company. At the film's close a perplexed Alfie, wounded from rejection, faces the camera and asks, relative to the overarching question of life itself, "What's it all about?"
This was one of the great British films dealing with the sexual revolution of the sixties, where it ranks alongside John Schlesinger's epic, "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," which was released just after the controversial decade ended, in 1971.
Movie Review: Michael Caine is excellent in breakthrough 60's role
Summary: 5 Stars
Alfie is an interesting film: part comedy,part drama, part character study that makes use of an interesting narrative device-Michael Caine addresses the viewer directly and breaks the so called " 4th wall" which is humurous and also refreshing. It is one of the first contemporary films to do this and may in fact be the first one. A year earlier Caine had done the excellent Zulu and now in 1964 paired with his effort in " The Ipcress File", stardom/superstardom beckoned. Caine's performance in Alfie is top notch: he creates a character that we like, are amused by, get angry at and feel sorry for. This is very difficult for an actor to achieve and only the best can pull it off. Alfie is at first glance a buoyant cad, flitting from one affair to the next with little regard for the womans' feelings. It is made clear that he is after sex only and thinks he has no use for love. Most of the liasons are presented in a humurous light but there are several that are very dramatic and will tug at your heart.( In particular there is a wrenching scene where Alfie realizes his responsibility for his girlfriends' abortion) There is also a touching subplot where Alfie TRIES to be a good father to his son from a former girlfrind, but alas the girlfriend wants more than just a "weekend" father and Alfie is pushed to the side as she and a new man form their own family. For Alfie, this is a form of rejection and something he didn't count on- having deep feelings for the little boy. You can feel his regret and pain as he watches his son with the new dad. The tables have turned and now the taker is the taken. This feeling is further driven home by a relationship he has with a rich older woman played by Shelly Winters where things do not work out quite to his expectation. Thus, the story of Alfie is an odyssey of self discovery for a man that never really grew up and has learned at great cost the outcome of his casual lifestyle. The ending I think is optimistic in that it strongly implies Alfie has learned his lesson and will not be doing these selfdestructive and hurtful actions any longer. There is a heartwarming conclusion concerning a lost and lonely dog (that is seen several times in the movie) that will make you smile. The supporting cast is excellent across the board and mesh extremely well and the closing credits montage with CHER(!!!) singing the haunting/sweet/melancholy title tune is sublime. I truely believe that Alfie will appeal to many people and that they will appreciate and enjoy the richly textured performances by all the actors WITH A special nod to Michael Caine.