When Jude Law first addresses the audience in his new movie "Alfie," the women settle in for a few care-free hours of being vicariously wooed by a pretty face, while the men take notes on Alfie's ability to get into women's pants without ever having to say, "I lost my number. Can I have yours?"
The suave, British, limo-driving heartthrob's a priori is playing fast and loose, with lots of women and no obligation. But life intervenes, and whereas he was formerly immune to the consequences of his brazen actions, he seems to be paying it back tenfold. His crisis of conscience unfolds and he asks for the audience's sympathy.
"Alfie," a remake of the 1966 movie starring Michael Caine, is lacking. At first glance it is hard to figure out why, since the correct ingredients are all there: a hunky man with a British accent, a sexy plot, New York City, Susan Sarandon drinking absinthe and an amazing wardrobe (amazing in the amazing number of layers Law wears, which is upwards of five at a time).
But the end of the movie is not satisfying. Alfie remains this enigma that the audience have never really knows and probably would not like to meet. The movie seems longer than it actually is, which is never a good sign. So how could "Alfie" fail in front of an audience who cannot get enough of fashionable, beautiful people (the "Sex and the City" syndrome has not warn off entirely)?
Since the film's success relies almost entirely on the character of Alfie, he is the first place we look to find where the movie misses the mark. When one looks at the movie in its entirety, Alfie becomes an emotional hodge-podge. The life-changing events seem to not match up entirely with his emotional maturation. This is coupled with the fact that the Alfie at the end of the movie does not exhibit growth from where he was at the beginning; instead, he bears little resemblance whatsoever. The Alfie at the end is a bit square, and we long for the Alfie of two hours before, even if he is a narcissistic womanizer.
It is possible that this is overly critical. The movie, throughout all of its many montages, reminds the viewer that Alfie will not be able to keep up his lifestyle forever and we should not be disappointed when his fate unfolds. But the problem is that the audience has been warned of this for so long.
They know that he cannot settle down and marry, but they also know that the women with whom he surrounds himself with will not allow themselves to be manipulated forever. The movie alludes to the letdown at the end, which is that everyone will have moved on, and Alfie will be left to fend for himself. And the audience does not have enough sympathy for him to carry him to his emotional end.
At the end of the day, despite its flaws, it is a fun movie. "Alfie" pretends to have depth, which is hard when the main character is shallow for at least 97 percent of the film. Take it for what it is - which is a jaunt through lust - and you just might feel sexy, too.
