#73 On 100 Movies I Haven’t Seen………But Should
Directed By: Lewis Gilbert
Written By: Bill Naughton
Staring: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Julie Foster, Jane Asner, Shirley Anne Field, Vivien Merchant, and Eleanor Bron
I’ve never told her that I love her – except at those times when you’ve *got* to say something for appearance’s sake. -Alfie
Review
Knowing Jude Law did a revamp of this (as he seems fond of doing Michael Cane remakes) I felt I should check out the original, as it’s been widely acclaimed, before testing Law’s updated version. What was so remarkable about Alfie? I’m not sure it was the script or direction as much as it was MichaelCaines outstanding performance. The film itself was well worth watching, but the only remarkable aspect of it in my memory is how intriguing it was to watchCaine play this son of a bitch and somehow find him charming. It was no wonder so many women fell prey to his lure.
While Michael Cane is devastatingly handsome in his youth, the role of Alfie required a lot more than good looks to win us over. Somehow Michael Cane convinces us that this pitiless and shamelessly horrible man isn’t not completely unlikable. In fact, he manages to be charming even he in his greatest moments of being a scoundrel. Unfortunately aside fromCaine’s magnanimous performance the film has not aged very well. While the concept of investigating what makes a man incapable of settling down is still relevant, the archaic references and treatment of women is no longer relevant and certainly annoying to watch.
Referring to women as “It’s” was too much for me to stomach. I understand that the roles of women were different then and I could deal with the idea of society really needing to deem women more helpless and certainly the idea of being a single mom being such a taboo thing, but it went beyond that. The point of Alfie objectifying them to only things and objects made sense, but it simply got under my skin to the extent that I found myself cringing and even wanted to shut the movie off.
Only one of the many conquests in Alfie's story.
When the issue of abortion is addressed it’s interesting to see how passive Alfie is about it, until he has to deal with the horror of his actions face to face. When he finally realizes the wreckage he’s left behind in his life and the fact that he’s ruined and hurt so many women and the consequences of having to allow that to register in his conscience was a twist I didn’t see coming. I never thought a revelation was coming, but I found the ending fitting and this helped me feel like the film resurrected itself from being no more than a love letter to all the playboys of the world.
As absurd and carried away as Alfie becomes himself, the retribution of the finale makes it more than just a tryst through a promiscuous mans life. It’s an actual reflective film that had a lot more thought than I had initially given it credit for it. While some of the material is unquestionably dated and for once I could see why someone would want to do a remake, it was worth watching for Caine’s performance alone.
Did you like this Movie? Rate it!
Seems a bit trippy that this film got nominated for Best Picture, doesn’t it?
I couldn’t agree with you more – while I do like the touch of darkness to it towards the end, this sucker is so immensely dated, and at times feels like someone is trying to do Austin Powers with a straight face.
Great post – can’t wait to read what you think of Law’s version in comparison.
(By the by, mentioned your blog in today’s installment of “Everybody’s talkin”)
Halfway through I was certainly feeling a little confused, and even with the ending halfway saving the awful middle it still is a train wreck. How this was best picture quality is beyond me, even putting it in the context of the 60′s……..
I’m a fan of Jude Law, so I wanted to see it just based on him being in it
Thanks for the shout out. I felt like going a little Charlie Brown with the top ten and get all wishy washy.
Mad Hatter, you are everywhere I go! This movie sure did not age too well but I liked how Michael Caine’s initially unlikable character evolving and maturing. Excellent review.
Thanks Caster!
Michael Caine’s performance is really what made this movie interesting. Another actor and the darkness and evolution of his character could have felt pointless, but Caine made us care about him to some degree.
It was really a strange movie overall, and even though I saw it a week ago I’m still terribly conflicted about my feelings of it.