Saw Alfie, starring Jude Law, Nia Long, Sienna Miller, Marisa Tomei, and Susan Sarandon.
Loved the movie. It didn't do that well at the box office but that's another reason I like it.
If you can wade through the R rated stuff (most of which to be honest was really not that necessary- and no I am not being prudish), it's really a great story. Watched it with and without the commentary.
I guess I have to say why I liked this. Jude plays a cad who sleeps with amazingly beautiful women, and justifies all his actions to himself and us, the audience, but he learns later on that this lifestyle is empty and hurtful not only to the women but to himself. This movie made me like Jude Law for the first time.
My favorite scene in the movie was the scene with Jude Law and Nia Long.
Nia has a 'no nudity' clause in her movie contracts, so they really had to choreograph her romantic scenes with Jude with much more finesse than with the other ladies. They accomplished that in the way she walked (swaying, gliding, skulking), the way she looked at Jude and vice versa (intense and playful).
Even with the music they played, when Jude and Nia laughed, and how they even did the billiards.
If you look closely at how they played the Billiards, they were both kind of slowly swooping and gliding, almost sliding, into the table....who does that in real life?
The lighting was perfect.
They even had Jude walk and move in a totally different way. He was slower, smoother, more soulful. The directors had to of course, have some sultry dancing. Nia was smooth and slow but very artful, and Jude who declared that he could not dance, then followed her lead by leaning into her and just going with the flow ( Isley Brothers- For the Love of You). It was short but very very effective.
Geez...I am going to watch this scene again. This scene did it for me.
I want to see the original starring Michael Cain. He was so much more mean and crass and the women seem much more homely. That means I will feel more sorry for the women.
I enjoyed watching this film.
Hugs M
2 comments:
I couldn't bear to watch this film being so much in awe of the original version. Glad you liked it though. You must check out the original which is a British classic and very evocative of working class Brit culture of the sixties. It has a brilliant performance by Michael Caine.
Erin,
I am going to watch the British version for sure, but I think with the updated version you get a different feel for the characters, because this is post women's lib so you get the sense that the women are not really 'falling for blarney'. They know what time it is for the most part and essentially Jude is 'sensitive'(as a man like him can be) to their feelings. The original was more violent and cruel....
Post a Comment