Very disappointing...

Sadly Over-hyped

How sad is this?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Though the 1966 film has a moral point, the repetitive story line seems a little too flat for the two-hour runtime. After all, how many hook-ups with girls does it take to show that lover-boy Alfie only cares about himself. In fact he brags about it to the audience. Surprisingly for the period, Caine's character keeps up a running commentary on his actions the entire runtime. It's that breaking down of the so-called 'fourth wall' by addressing the camera directly that really distinguishes the film. Alfie's a working class bloke who's main activity whether on the job or not, amounts to seducing young women. Because of his good looks and confident manner, he has little trouble. Among his conquests are a delectable Jane Asher (Paul McCartney's real life sweetie), an aging Shelley Winters (a perfect cynical match for Alfie), and a pathetic Vivien Merchant (her plight confuses the overconfident seducer). Moreover, as Alfie's conquests mount so do the human consequences-- abortion, abandonment, etc. So the audience gets to compare at the same time the cad's selfish carelessness with its human cost to others. This, I gather, is the movie's main point. Looks to me as though the flick's an extension of the British cinema's 'kitchen sink' period when working class themes came to predominate. Certainly, Alfie's bad grammar and Cockney accent reflect such background. Anyway, Caine's perfect in the role, which he has to carry through in most every scene. Unsurprisingly, his career got a big boost as a result. I saw the film on first release when it got a lot of bally-hoo, and liked it. Now, I'm not so much engaged probably because the many aspects are no longer cutting edge, leaving the repetitive theme foremost. Also, the dumb barroom brawl now appears a clumsy contrivance aimed at working some action into an otherwise talky narrative.Anyway, the movie's moral may remain a perennial one; but, unfortunately, the narrative has lost much cutting edge over time.

Apparently, I had never seen Michael Caine in a leading role; that can't be right I thought, but a quick scan through his filmography revealed that I had, in fact, missed out on seeing any films with Michael Caine as a lead. Alfie, the 1966 film by Lewis Gilbert, follows a self-professed ladies man through his life of careless leisure as he slowly begins to realize the consequences of the choices he has a history of unapologetically making. Starring Michael Caine in the titular role, along with Shelley Winters, Alfie is a late-in-life coming of age story highlighting the difficult realization that adulthood comes along whether we wish it to or not, and at some point, we must face the realities of the decisions we make.Alfie (Michael Caine) is a young, good looking, wholly self-centered egotistical sexist who believes that women exist to be sought after by him. Alfie has an established system that he closely follows that require him to use women for sexual gratification, yet remain proficient in detecting the signs of emotional attachment. As soon as Alfie sees one of his conquests becoming emotionally involved, he retreats, ignoring them until their feelings have waned. Such a "romantic" method leaves Alfie feeling happy-go-lucky without any attachments, but leaving a trail of devastation in his wake. The worst part of Alfie's character is not only that he believes he is doing no harm to the psychology of these women, but that he is actually doing them a service and teaching them a valuable life lesson. As Alfie's own mortality and emotional attachments reveal themselves to him, he begins to realize the harm his lifestyle has done and slowly learns that one person's actions affect all of those one comes into contact with.Rabid individualism is what Alfie believes gives him the edge in life, but he eventually finds out that what he has always viewed as his biggest strength, is actually his greatest downfall. It takes some people much longer than others to learn that their life doesn't just affect them--don't we all know that self-centered person that behaves just as Alfie does, leaving pain behind in everything they touch while believing that they are doing favors to all those they come into contact with. Alfie's only redeeming quality in this film is that he eventually comes to realizing he is hurting people, and goes about, in his own way, to do less damage to those around him. Unlikeable characters are a tough boat to get into when watching a film because it's tough to find another redeeming quality on a film low on technical prowess. What was impressive was the effective way in which the 4th wall was broken throughout the film and a dialogue was maintained with the audience. Of course, Alfie wasn't the only film to do this, as the technique was also done quite effectively in the Best Picture winning film of 1963, Tom Jones. The speech at the beginning of the film regarding not having credits was great fun, and such unconventional methods were able to detract from the unlikeable characters and keep one engaged.

More swinging '60s London, this time with unrepentant *beep* Michael Caine at the center. Alfie is a shameless philanderer, sleeping with multiple women, some of them married, and narrating his exploits to the audience in asides, referring to the various women as "it"s. Quite a disgusting and unlikable character to center a movie around! Yes, he softens a bit towards the end (a bit), but it's quite hard to not just spend most of the movie despising him. It is, however, a good movie in most ways, and Caine is, unsurprisingly, excellent. The film was popular enough that it received a Best Picture nomination, and Caine received his first Best Actor nomination. Seeing as Shelly Winters is second billed as one of Alfie's more unconventional lovers, I'm shocked that the Academy looked past her (whom the Academy seemed to nominate every time she farted her way into a movie like she does here) and nominated Vivien Merchant for Best Supporting Actress. She plays one of Alfie's married lovers, the one who is forced to go through with an abortion during the film's climax. I'm sure the traumatic event is what got her the nom, because she's honestly unmemorable. Millicent Martin and Jane Asher both give better supporting performances than either Winter or Merchant.

I am very glad I finally got around to seeing "Alfie". For years I incorrectly assumed two things--that it was a smutty little film and that it was a comedy. While the film does have a very strong message about sex and the title character seems to be sexually addicted, it is far, far deeper. And, while the film appears to be a comedy, as the film progresses it becomes more and more serious. All in all, I was very impressed by this film--it had far more depth than I'd assumed.The film begins with Alfie (Michael Caine) making it with a married lady in a car. You don't see any of it but hear them as he tries to convince her to go all the way. Now here is where it gets weird--Alfie gets out of the car and then begins addressing the audience. In fact, throughout the film he stops to talk to the audience--to discuss his philosophy about women, marriage and relationships. Now MOST of what he says is pure drivel--a guy coming up with 1001 reasons why it was okay to use women and why emotionally connecting with any of them was a BIG mistake. However, as the story unfolds, Alfie discovers that staying that emotionally distant is very difficult. I could easily say more--but don't want to give away the plot twists.I really loved this film. Michael Caine was at his best as a lovable but emotionally stunted rogue. But what really impressed me was the writing. This film would be WONDERFUL to show to young men--especially since there are so many 'Alfies' out there and seeing how lonely this sort of life could be is a great lesson for young folks. See this film--it's so much more than I'd expected and had amazing depth.