Customer Reviews
A day in the life of a gigolo - By: N. Burgess, 24 Jul 2008 
This is the story of "love 'em & leave 'em" Alfie, an old school womaniser whose whole philosophy on life is that women love a scoundrel. Alfie, played by Jude Law, knows exactly how to manipulate women, all relationships have to adhere to his rules, & he will think nothing of bailing out without even a goodbye as soon as a more tempting lady comes along. He has a kind of semi-permanent girlfriend but she acts as nothing more a portin a storm he returns to when he wants to hang up his flirting boots for the night. She also has a child that Alfie is genuinely fond of, but this still doesn't stop him from misbehaving with the ladies.
Playing the field seems like his whole reason for existing until he embarks on one shenanigan too many, damaging his friendship with a very close friend. Things then start going wrong for him, including getting a taste of his own medicine from a feisty older lady, & suddenly his cosy world isn't quite as cosy anymore & he starts having serious doubts about his attitude towards people.
The film is very stylishly shotin New York, with the women that Jude Law encounters being equally stylish. Although the film's setting is modern day, it has a slight 1960s feel to it which makes Alfie's world seem even more set apart from the 'real' world that everyone else inhabits.
Jude Law putsin a convincingly cheeky performance, wittily narrating his way through the film & effectively inviting us to come along for the ride & cheer him on as he drifts from one female conquest to another. When things start to go astray for Alfie, he then enters a long period of soul searching & the film starts to lose it's direction a bit & becomes almost like a self-contained soap opera as Alfie tries to redeem himself. In fact the film's mood changes quite considerablyin the second half, losing a lot of it's fun factor & becoming very melancholy & a little depressing. It's a pity this introspection couldn't have been complemented with the fun elements that made Jude Law's character so entertainingin the first half of the film.
Nonetheless Jude Law is on top form & the film has a good mixture of laughs & good drama that will keep you fully engaged as you wonder what is to become of this likeable rogue.
I don't think Alfie knows what it's all about! - By: Penelope, 16 Oct 2007 
This is a film that really does not know what it is. Is it a rom-com? Or is it a homage to the sixties ala khol eyed & stick skinny Sienna Miller? Or is it a fashion montagein the style of 'Vogue'? What it certainly is not is a good film! I was aghast to see the usually wonderful Susan Sarandon taking partin such a flimsy, superficial, & garish affair, with little substance or heart. Jude Law's direct dialogue with the camera was unconvincing, self conscious & often quite embarrasing to watch. Besides his undeniable good looks I could not see why his cockney limousine driver devoid of wit or intellect managed to bed so many women. Some of his asides to the camera were arrogant & down right offensive. Surelyin the 21st century we have managed to move on from the fuzzy feelings apparently once inspired by the so-called 'loveable' womanizer? Marisa Tomai's character is the only one to come off half way unscathed, although once again she is playing the neurotic, always the bridesmaid never the bride, overenthusiastic & unloved girlfriend. Sienna Miller is given extremely little to work with & resorts to impromtu stripping off. I couldn't work out whether her performance was a genuine attempt to prove she could act or was merely shoehornedin to provide 'top totty' for all the bored senseless boyfriends who were probably dragged to see this at the cinema. The moralizing ending, where Alfie reflects on his behaviour labours far too much Hollywood smaltz & jars with the overall lighthearted tone of a movie that has the cheek to attempt to tackle serious issues such as infidelity, abortion & mental illness. Avoid!
A cockney womanizer learns the hard way about the dangers of his actions. - By: Jay, 09 May 2007 
The higher you go, the harder you fall; That's the film's premise. I should probably start off by saying I haven't seen Michael Caine's version of Alfie. Without anything to compare it to, I surprisingly enjoyed this film. Allin all, I found Alfie to be a 'breath of fresh air,' a pleasant surprise, a good balance of light-heartedness fun & more serious, thought-provoking issues not to be taken lightly.
No plot, no charm, waste of time. - By: H. Wojtczak, 20 Dec 2006 THis is almost the worst film I have ever seen (narrowly beaten by Bridget Jones Edge of Reason). Seems to have missed the plot. Don't watch this, watch the Micahel Caine original.
Lord, but this was boring! - By: Mr. R. J. MacRae, 30 Jul 2006 
This was a messy movie, veering from one style to another, from stylised montage to a homage to the swinging 60s, before ending up sentimental & weepy, all whilst crammingin product endorsements by the second. Too many scenes were stopped short or faded out & felt unfinished.
The cliché-ridden songs whiningin the background were DIRE ('like the blind leading the blind...old soldiers never die...etc'). You're left gasping to hear the original theme tune, Joss Stone's capable version of which is buried at the end of the closing credits.
Can someone please explain why they bothered filmingin England? I remember them spending so much time & money turning Manchester's Northern Quarter (my neighbourhood) into Greenwich Village, which ended up being usedin maybe 5 minutes of footage (the coffee shop & restaurant scenes with Marisa Tomei).
What were the fat florist & the German doctor doingin this movie??? It was like something from the Carry On films & another indication of the unevenness of the whole production.
And just think of poor Sadie Frost, having to watch Sienna's nips wiggling aroundin Jude's face!
A woman sat behind me sobbed through the second half (feeling sorry for Jude, which I'm not sure was the piont), while a bloke sat next to me snickered. So much for being the perfect 'date' movie.
