Alfie (1966)

Directed by Lewis Gilbert. Starring Michael Caine, Julia Foster, Vivien Merchant, Jane Asher, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Alfie Bass, Graham Stark, Shirley Anne Field, Eleanor Bron, Denholm Elliott. [PG]

Caine is aptly cast as the titular Cockney womanizer, a narcissistic cad who’s accustomed to disposing of his problems (and ladies) on a whim, constantly breaking the fourth well to address the audience with ironic commentary and wisecracks. Only an actor with his edgy but droll sophistication and charm could pull it off; otherwise, Alfie would be a contemptible lout whose company would be intolerable over the better part of two hours. One can regard him as a product of his time—the free love attitudes of the Swinging 60s—or as a misogynist dinosaur before fossilization has set in, but either way, he’s written and performed with unshakable distinction. Often billed as a comedy, and there are funny lines, but don’t expect a sex farce or boy-behaving-badly tomfoolery; it’s the darker episodes that give the film its staying power, as the consequences of his unscrupulous etiquette deliver life lessons too late for him to attain absolution. Scripted by Bill Naughton from his own same-named stage play. Followed by a Caine-free sequel (Alfie Darling) and a 2004 remake.

78/100