Dec. 07, 2002 - 5:34 pm
i had heard Leslie mention this one a few times. and whenever i've seen mentions of Michael Caine recently, everyone always seems to point out his acting in this film. i guess it's the first really great thing that he got noticed for. he was nominated for an Oscar, as was the film itself for Best Picture. it's an interesting sort of morality tale, filled almost thoroughly with immorality and sin. a lot of comedy mixed in with drama and some soul searching. and probably the biggest thing that stands out in the film is the constant asides done by the Alfie character (meaning he talks directly to the camera about a situation and the other characters don't notice).
Alfie is a sort of playboy, having sex with many different women almost indiscriminantly. if he feels up to it, he does it. and very few women ever seem to object. that's basically all that happens in the movie as far as plot, except he ends up treating a lot of the women very poorly and getting a couple of them pregnant. since he's so irresponsible and unwilling to make committments, you can guess how useful he is as a father. basically it's a film that hopefully makes the audience question this type of lifestyle, but also makes them laugh a lot in the process. interesting idea, and fairly well put together.
unfortunately, like a few other unfortunate films, this movie also briefly features Shelley Winters (as you'll notice in the cover i have placed above). i've just said my thoughts on her within the past week or so, so you may need to review The Night of the Hunter (1955). my only surprise with this film was that she did not actually die during the course of the film...although Leslie had prepared me for this sad fact.
anyway, i've got a couple more things from the IMDb list for this upcoming week, and then a few things that i've just picked somewhat randomly. stay tuned.