2004 must be the year of Jude Law. He already appeared in \Sky Captain,"" and ""i ? Huckabees,"" and before the year is done he will appear in ""The Aviator,"" ""Lemony Snicket"" and ""Closer."" Currently he headlines the remake of 1966's ""Alfie.""
Not only does Law star in the film, he is the film. The plot is kind of weak, the direction only serviceable, but Law is amazing, and he single-handedly carries ""Alfie.""
When the producers cast Alfie, they probably went through a tough process along these lines: ""We need a guy who can play a cocky but charming British guy, whom the ladies like to look at."" Since Hugh Grant is getting long in years, Jude Law was the perfect choice. Granted, Law plays that character type quite commonly, but usually is relegated to the background as a supporting character. ""Alfie"" is his chance to shine. He takes a character of questionable morals, and through his natural charm, makes him insanely likable.
Alfie is not a good guy-he jumps from bed to bed, hooking up with as many women as he possibly can. If he ever feels a woman getting close to him, he makes sure to drop her as quickly as possible. This fast-paced lifestyle causes Alfie to experience several negative episodes including a relationship with a married woman, impregnating a friend's girlfriend, battling erectile dysfunction and getting dumped for a younger man.
Therein lies the problem with ""Alfie""-it tries to accomplish too much. Everything gets packed into its own little episode. Characters and plotlines are introduced that might be interesting, but are never seen again. Sienna Miller's character, Nikki, could have been extremely interesting, since she was a loose cannon prone to bouts of insanity. The relationship between Alfie and Nikki could have filled up the entire movie and it carried it. Yet in order to keep the episodic nature of the movie going, she had roughly five minutes of screen time which felt rushed and incomplete.
The supporting characters become known not by their names but by their types. There is the crazy one, the friend's girlfriend, the ex-girlfriend, the adulterer and the one played by Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon. None of the actresses can break through and really establish a character. Instead, they are relegated to a background role where their talents are largely wasted.
Another problem with the setup of the script is the excessive amount of narration by Alfie. The problem is not the existence of the narration, but the execution. Alfie usually talks to the camera instead of giving voice-overs. Characters talking to the camera represent weak filmmaking, a method normally confined to television. When placed on the big screen, narrations make the product feel trivial. While they are not without charm, the filmmakers could have conveyed the message in a different fashion and had the same results. Maybe finding a different method of presentation would have given the supporting cast more meat, resulting in a stronger product.
With ""Alfie,"" Law justifies all the attention he received this year. He truly becomes his character, or maybe his character is just an offshoot of Law's own personality. Either way, he is delightfully charming. Unfortunately, the weak plot hinders him and his talents are wasted on what is essentially a fluffy, forgettable comedy.
