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Alfie (R, 2004)

common sense media says

Uneven movie about a charming cad. Not for kids.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie has very explicit sexual references and situations. Characters use very strong language, drink, smoke, take drugs, and have unprotected sex. There are tense situations and references to abortion. There are strong inter-racial relationships, though a theme of the movie is the way Alfie betrays just about everyone with whom he comes in contact.

Violence: Tense and emotional scenes.
Sex: Frequent sexual references and situations, including adultery, threesome, reference to abortion, nudity.
Language: Some very strong language.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Drinking, smoking, marijuana, absinthe.

More on Alfie

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about what Alfie (and the audience) learns from each of his encounters, including the old man in the bolo tie. Which one is the most meaningful to him? Why? What is Alfie looking for? How will that change?

What's the story?

What's the story?

In this remake of the 1966 Michael Caine classic, Alfie (Jude Law) is a British womanizer living in New York. Unable to commit to one woman, he breaks a lot of hearts. But then one of his lovers gets pregnant, and he appears to question his life.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers used to be married, and they used to make movies together (Baby Boom, the remakes of Father of the Bride and The Parent Trap). Now they're divorced, and they make movies separately. Hers: the very successful What Women Want and Something's Gotta Give; his: the less successful The Affair of the Necklace and now ALFIE. The two of them seem to be working through something, as both of their recent films were about the exact same thing -- the comeuppance of what we used to call a cad. This film may have had some therapeutic value for its director. Its value as entertainment and illumination is uneven at best.

The performances are all top-notch. Each of the women creates a full and complex character, especially Nia Long as the woman Alfie's best friend loves, Susan Sarandon as an older woman as predatory as he is, Marisa Tomei as a single mom, and Sienna Miller as a beauty whose instability is at first a turn-on and then a turn-off. The film's primary and very significant asset is Law, who's brilliant in the title role. He has to make us almost as charmed by Alfie as the women he goes after, even while he is confiding in us what he is really thinking. Very few actors can make an unsympathetic character so appealing or pull off a role that involves speaking directly to the audience, and Law is constantly ingratiating, fascinating, and even touching. That is less true, however, of the rest of the film. The movie feels as empty as Alfie's heart.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Charles Shyer
Cast: Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Nia Long
Genre: Drama
Run time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release: November 4, 2004
DVD release: March 15, 2005
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: sexual content, some language and drug use

This review was written by Nell Minow
 
 

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Brilliant acting! Less than brilliant movie.

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age