leethomas-11621 Caine is magnificent in every scene. Wonderful direction, the risky talk-to-camera succeeding largely because of Caine's charisma. Great score also and two great actors Denhelm Elliot and Shelley Winters as well as Alfie Bass as Alfie's fellow sanatorium patient. What's not to like? as Alfie would say. I love the selfish rogue's optimism and patter. Finally there's the wonderful Cher singing the perfect title song at the end. And the dog bookending the whole film is a perfect touch. SPOILER: Even though we know things will turn pear-shape, I didn't think they would get as dark as they do and Caine and Merchant especially deliver strong performances.

rdoyle29 Caine is Alfie, an unrepentant ladies man who gets close to and uses several women before tossing them away at the slightest sign of complication. He eventually learns that his actions have consequences and that he faces increasingly diminishing options along the path he's chosen. Not exactly a deep film, but one that's elevated by Caine in his career defining performance. Caine walks a very thin line, never letting the audience forget that he's really a creep while simultaneously charming the pants of them with a running narration pitched directly to the audience in 4th wall breaking asides. He pretty much carries the film. It seems like Kubrick must have studied this one while preparing "A Clockwork Orange".

SnoopyStyle Alfie Elkins (Michael Caine) is an irresponsible womanizer. He gets Gilda pregnant but even the birth of his son can't straighten him out. He complains constantly. Gilda decides to marry a bus driver for stability and keeps her son from Alfie. A health checkup finds two shadows on his lungs. He breaks down and spends time in a recovery home. He sleeps with the nurses and befriends his neighbor Harry who misses terribly his wife Lily. Harry sleeps with Lily getting her pregnant and is horrified by the abortion. He continues with various women but he wonders "What's it all about? You know what I mean." This takes London's swinging 60s to a darker place. It's not free love. In fact, Alfie is selfish and the women are often left in the dust. Breaking down the 4th wall is important because it allows the audience into Alfie's mind. He's not mean-spirited but he is self-obsessed. He excuses his antics with no malice. This is one of Michael Caine's great early performances. The abortion scene is shocking and there's no way modern mainstream movies would ever do that today.

brchthethird ALFIE is a somewhat dated, but still engaging dramedy, with a star-making performance by Michael Caine. The film is about Alfie, a Cockney ladies' man with commitment issues, and the audience is personally led through his life by him breaking the fourth wall and addressing us directly. This is useful on a couple of levels. First, it is amusing that he can do that without his female companions being any wiser, but it also allows the viewer to connect with him in a much deeper way. As Alfie is a rather unlikeable character, save for a couple scenes where he shows some genuine emotion, the way in which he directly communicates with the audience is key in laying bare the character's motivation, regardless of whether or not you agree with what he does. Early on in the film, there is a sly comedic tone set which carries throughout most of the running time, until it takes a turn for the melodramatic. I didn't particularly like the direction it went, but it did serve a narrative and character-building purpose. I also felt like Alfie's comeuppance was handled rather well. Overall, this was a good movie, though occasionally slightly tedious. Michael Caine's performance is the real draw here. Still, there was a nice soundtrack and closing credits song by Cher. Despite some rather dated morals, I felt that this was a good character study of someone who knows how to make love, but doesn't know how to love.