Review of High Fidelity (2000) by James S — 20 Sep 2009
An absolute gem of a movie in one of the most untapped genres of film making - the male orientated romantic comedy.
Nick Hornby's novel is a brilliant look at the male psyche and what is really important to men in relationships with women, other men and their record collections and director Stephen Frears has conveyed it in perfect fashion to the screen.
Relocating the story to Chicago matters not.....men are men the world over and John Cusack is the best choice to portray Rob Gordon, the self-deprecating muso who spends his days wondering why women keep leaving him and making pointless top 5 lists with his fellow record store employees. The list making is a great part of the novel, and an inherently male trait and it's great that it's not played down in the movie.
Cusack's supporting cast are first class. Jack Black never has and probably never will be better than he is here.
High Fidelity is warm and funny and an absolute joy to watch again and again. Rob Gordon is a character who has made mistakes and fully admits them and it's a pleasure to take this journey with him as he tries to figure out why.
The end feels soaked in good feeling but without tipping itself into cheesy territory. There is no stand out line a la Four Weddings or Bridget Jones, just a nice scene showing that sometimes in life things can work out well and there will probably be bad times too but if you have someone to share them with, they might not seem so bad.
High Fidelity deserves to go down as one of, if not the best, book to screen adaptation of all time.
This review of High Fidelity (2000) was written by James S on 20 Sep 2009.
High Fidelity has generally received very positive reviews.
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