High Fidelity (2000)

Directed by Stephen Frears. Starring John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Todd Louiso, Joan Cusack, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sara Gilbert, Lili Taylor, Tim Robbins, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Joelle Carter, Chris Rehmann, Ben Carr. [R]

Nick Hornby’s book of a record shop owner with a fear of commitment and preoccupation with pop music has been transplanted from London to Chicago, and sticks Cusack into a role as perfectly suited to his acting style as anything he’s made since Say Anything. His character, Rob Gordon, reacts to his latest breakup with the usual stew of acrimony and deflection, but grudgingly realizes that he screwed this one up and takes stock of his own self-destructive behavior and insecurities. Winning blend of sly humor, self-reflection, human drama, relationship deconstruction, the alternative music scene, quirkiness, snobbery, and obsessive itemization, with characters so fully-realized and authentic that it feels like observing the minuscule agonies and weirdness of real life. The story and central character arc aren’t tough to grasp or predict, but it all plays out in such an unforced way that it becomes one of those movies that could use a three-hour fan-edit just so that more time could be spent in company of these individuals and their hang-ups (surely, there are a few dozen more Top 5 lists that can be discussed). Black steals the show as one of Cusack’s employees, a fireball of opinionated enthusiasm. The soundtrack is, naturally, excellent, and could any fan of the indie music scene possibly not love the “I will now sell five copies of The Three E.P.’s by the Beta Band” bit? Screenplay adaptation by Cusack, D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and Scott Rosenberg. Bruce Springsteen cameos.

91/100