Alfie (2004)

While working on the film. Jude Law began to reflect on just what it is that makes a guy like Alfie so attractive to women. A huge fan of the original film and of Michael Caine’s take on the character. Law says the modern-day Alfie he has created is on an entirely different journey than the swinging playboy Caine portrayed in 1966.

“There’s no doubt that individuals with Alfie’s attitude existed back then and there’s no doubt they exist today,” observes Law. “Some would even say that his attitude is actually more relevant to the way people currently think: that is, more freely with regard to sex and dating.”

Law also points out that when the original film came out it was shocking to think that some men actually behaved that way. “It’s almost 40 years later, though. and of course, women have changed. What they’ll put up with today and what they’ve learned since the ‘60s changes the entire tone of a film like this.”

Still, the question remains: Why. throughout the centuries, have intelligent women been drawn to men like Alfie? With their reckless approach to partnership. their disdain of commitment and their disregard of everyone’s feelings but their own, the Alfies of the world continue to get away with their bad-boy attitudes and win the hearts of women from all walks of life.

“That’s why this story is so universal and so classic,” observes director Charles Shyer. “It’s a cautionary tale, one that says wake up and see how your behavior affects others. Our modern Alfie experiences a true journey, from someone who is blind to his actions, to someone who begins to have a bit of insight into the error of his ways. It slowly dawns on Alfie that perhaps the person who is suffering the most is himself.”

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