Review of Alfie (2004) by Ross M — 12 Apr 2010

Alfie the remake drags on more than the Alfie the original. However, that didn't harm the 1966 classic. With this one, it shows. This version is clogged up with too many useless scenes and we find outselves caring very little about the characters.

The infamous abortion scene has been rendered invalid in an up to date remake because there is nothing shocking about it and unlike the original, the woman who has the procedure is a vapid, uniteresting character.

Whilst Law manages to maintain a lot of the charm Caine had (although he no where near surpasses it), the other characters stumble and fall. The ones that do have a shred of humanity are only dealt with partially, whereas they had ample time in Gilbert's Alfie.

Shyer shies away from the characters that were supposed to make a deliberate contrast to Alifie, which was what worked so well in the favour of the original and enabled it to conveniantly carry its own running time, which this version inevitably does not.

Flaws aside, Alfie does boast technical accuracy, with swift editing accentuating the morals that have continued through from the original, whilst the directors style shines. Healthy updates do not go amiss and do make all the difference in making this stand alone from the Caine film, rather than being a dull rehash of the same old material, whislt many of the monologues, inlcuding the final lines, remain faithful to the screenplay of the original because changing them would be a crime.

Not a bad film, it is just a shame the minor weaknesses of the original translated as catastrophic flaws in the remake.