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Jude
Law talks about Alfie
By Ashley Elizabeth Smith
 "Alfie"
is a re-vamped version of the original 1966 British comedy,
which starred Michael Caine. This Manhattan version continues
to be an existential quest that follows the daily meanderings
and rompings of a philosophical womanizer named Alfie (Jude
Law). The constructs of fantasy and reality are explored as
Alfie often tears down the fourth wall and address the camera
directly. Law is joined on screen by a plethora of talented
women actors including Susan Sarandon, Marisa Tomei, Nia Long,
Sienna Miller, and Jane Krakowski. These strong female counterparts
call into question the previously dated notions of misogyny
and womanizing. Many of these women wield their own sexual prowess,
and as Jude Law notes in a recent interview here in NYC that
in real life he has known many female Alfies. Regardless of
these pontifications on the modern ‘player’, director
Charles Shyer delivers a sharp and savvy movie, which similar
to Alfie himself, tries to extrapolate deeper substance beyond
an outwardly slick veneer.
Q: When you make a film of this nature, how much do
you have to reference back to the original?
Jude Law: Having embarked on this with Charles, we
talked about the original occasionally, but really, we both
felt that we knew it so well and we were so inspired it, really,
and felt that it was in our DNA that I certainly never went
back and studied it. In fact, I felt that it was more important
to rely…for example, when I did "Cold Mountain,"
I read the novel twice and then put it down. That was it. Left
it. That’s the way Anthony wrote it and I have a feeling
the way Charles wrote this. It was like you have to move it
away from it and remember the essence, what influence it left
on you and be inspired by that. I’d have made a mistake
if I tried to be Michael playing Alfie. I had to be Jude playing
Alfie and discover Alfie for myself.
Q: Jude, was it difficult acting directly to the camera
for as long as you did?
Jude Law: We (the director and Law) both wanted to
investigate that device a little more because we knew that it
wouldn’t quite have the same effect that it had in the
original, because obviously, you’d seen it before in a
couple other films and since on TV, so we played it with a lot
and every day, it was like inventing the wheel. We kind of discovered
new ways of using it. The further in the filming process we
got, the more we pulled little tricks out, whether it was just
momentary glances or… it just seemed to evolve as we went
along. It was never… I think I made a bit of a big deal
about it before we started and I kind of asked Charles if we
could have a rehearsal, a couple of days, where I could just
try stuff out, but in fact, once we got going, for me, I don’t
know was whether it was because I had done a lot of work in
the theatre and in theatre, especially classical theatre, there
are a lot of asides and soliloquies to the audience in which
really you know that the soliloquy is actually in the head but
in fact, we’re talking to the audience as if they’re
in your head.
That relationship seemed very natural to me and I think it’s
true to say also that Charles and I were on this throughout,
and we were both graced with the presence of fantastic actors
and actresses who would come in for a week, two weeks here and
there, but the constant was me and Charles and this camera.
In a funny way, my relationship with the camera became the closest
while these others actors and actresses visited his life in
a way. And so that enabled me at times to push the contrast
between who I was playing with and the camera more and more
and more and that became a really exciting device to play off.
We learned early on as well that the device… I could never
talk to camera if someone was looking at me. No one could ever
see me talking to camera, so there was always something believable
that took me over and that meant I could talk to you and that
it came back. That was like something we worked out really early
on.
Q: Jude, any concern about so many movies being clumped
together and what parts of your talent do you think each of
these movies highlight?
Jude Law: I could let myself get weighed down with
a cynical view that these films that took me two years to make
have come out or will come out in a period of about five months,
but that seems to be the reality of the situation and I have
to look at that positively rather than negatively, cause I have
no say in the matter. I chose them because to me, they all offered
something differently, they’ve all come out as very different
types of film, driven by very different types of director, very
different parts, and I hope that people recognize and enjoy
the variety rather than the bombardment. I don’t feel
particularly that…maybe one or two will step on the other’s
toes, but they’re pretty different kinds of films. What
can I say? I have to live with it. I’m trying to be positive.
As for each film, I guess, I don’t know. I don’t
know what I’ve given to each film. Well, I’ve given
my all. There you go. (laughter) To each and every one of them.
Q: Did you ever have your Alfie days when you were younger?
Do you identify with this character in any way?
Jude Law: I’d like to think that everybody, especially
nowadays, man and woman, identifies with this guy. Yeah, I had
my Alfie days. I think my late teens. Those years when you’re
suddenly allowed legally into bars and clubs, and the world
suddenly you realize is offering itself to you. I would say
I guess that if you look at my life, I was always someone who
looked for commitment and that was in my make-up. I have my
moment on the Brooklyn Bridge at 21 rather than at 31, and that’s
why I got married and had children. There’s so many levels
to it. I think the beautiful thing about this film is that it’s
not just about a guy that likes to screw around. It’s
about relationships. You can stand back and look at the wider
picture and I think every one of us recognizes that at least
one in route or out route or survival tactics of the relationships
in this film and can all identify having been either the dumped
or the dumper or the cheat or the cheater—you know what
I mean?—at some point in our lives. I think that’s
the beauty of it in the end. It’s actually a piece about
relationships.
Q: Jude, can you talk a bit about shooting in New York
and if you can both comment on Joss Stone doing the title track?
Jude Law: The heart of this film was in New York. I’ve
been coming here for eleven years. My first job was here on
stage. I love this city. Were I filming a different part, I’d
be living here ten years ago. Coming to here to actually film
on the streets, literally on the streets, driving a limo around
and a Vespa, I had a ball. It breathed a huge amount of life
into studiowork that we had already done in and around London.
The vitality of the movie, we had to really transplant from
New York back into London. Thank goodness we all had reference
of the city. It wasn’t like none of us knew it while we
were over in the studios. As an Englishman coming here, I always
feel like something might happen. You always feel you can stay
up a little longer, you can sleep a little less, you can squeeze
in another gallery or another party. Because it’s just
in the stone, so I recognized that and used a lot of that in
Alfie’s kind of energy and love of this place. As for
Joss Stone, she’s a rare breed and I think we’re
very lucky to have her. You know what I really love actually
about her version of this fantastic song? I think perhaps she’s
truly given the first rendition of it with a sort of…strange
kind of… It’s like she’s really living it.
It’s not just a performance of the number. It’s
got a sense of woundedness and a sense of ownership that you
only get when you have a great voice.
Q: Do you agree with Charles that there’s a new
misogynism and in the film, you interact with two generations
of women—and how do you see those two generations?
Jude Law: I think we’ve found out there’s
a confusing time generally, and as a culture, the West has found
itself in a strange, not battle of the genders, but battle in
one’s own gender. There’s been so much equalizing
that we’ve all kind of lost a little sense of who and
what we’re about and a certain amounts of definition of
who and what being a woman and being a man is about. It’s
almost like a murky middle ground that sometimes diffuses the
definition and out of that has indeed spawned, in certain areas,
misogynism. I think in England it’s spawned-- Which is
why this film is scary relevant to women as to men…I know
a lot of Alfie women. No, I really do. Women who I think that
power is wielding their sexuality. So there’s misogynism
in men, in women..It’s a confusing time…especially
when women are being told that power is being on the cover of
a magazine and being paid a lot of money, you know what I mean?
So I do agree with him. There is a new kind of misognynism and
I think it applies to both genders. And it’s come out
of..what I just said. After working with two generations of
actors..you know..I’ve worked with many generations of
actors, older younger whatever, and to me, it’s always
just about what working with actors because each actor has a
different approach…. How do you mean? How do they differ?
I don’t know if they did. I think Alfie took them all
at face value really and enjoyed them for what they offered
him at any given time.
Q: Can you talk about the fashion, please?
Jude Law: Isn’t it also true to say that we’re
in a very vain, very appearance conscious world nowadays, people
on a whole? Especially in the world of Alfie, going to clubs,
pulling people are hugely concerned with how they look. And
Alfie sees that as a very important part of how he makes himself
feel good and indeed, how he hopes to go out and—not entrap—but
how he sees it as a part of his device to entice people into
him. And again, as you rightfully pointed out, that goes along
to the end with his realization that this faux finish is actually
not going to give him an answer. Wearing the right suit is not
necessarily going to make him happy.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about your female co-stars
in the movie?
Jude Law: First of all it’s a testament to the
recognition by Charles and Elayne that womanhood of ….none
of the women of this film are victims and the fact that we got
such a fantastic cast of women both on and off camera. Susan
is such an extraordinary role model and such a powerful person…Marisa,
Nia, Sienna, Jane are too in different ways, and I think that’s
testament to the fact that they wrote a great bunch of female
characters, which we know is a rarity nowadays. Gosh. To go
through them all is tricky. I kind of live in the now and I
can’t remember. I just remember it was a very good experience.
I loved that I was able..I dunno..each one brought a different
sort of energy. Each one drew something very different out of
Alfie, and therefore, out of me as a performer. Each one approached
the film very differently. We rehearsed differently with each
one. Some liked to improvise, some didn’t. I tried to
remember which ones did. I know that Marisa didn’t like
to improvise. I know Susan did. Nia and I remember had an amazing
afternoon shooting that..what’s the name of that game
again? …. the pool table game. I don’t know. It
was a great experience. I was very lucky. It was like I said
before, Charles and I were the constant and we were finished
every two weeks by another great actor. Fresh blood on a set
is always amazing cause it breathes life into something. Just
when you feel your energy is lagging, someone arrives and they’re
alive. It’s their first day. It’s a series of first
days. You know, unless you’re in it for the long haul,
in case you only get one. You hope that each new arrival will
bring something new and they all did.
Q: Would you define this movie as a comedy or a drama
and how do you think that it should be marketed?
Jude Law: It's a dram-edy or a comma.
Q: Did you actually drive the Vespa through New York
City and did people recognize you buzzing around the streets?
Jude Law: We did a mixture. It was me driving around…a
lethal flying object. There were a couple of mounted shots,
a couple. It's so stupid when you're mounted though. You're
on this wooden thing and a car is dragging you along and you're
praying that no one will see you. It's much cooler to be riding.
Q: Have you ever received life altering advice from
someone that you’ve met in a men’s room?
Jude Law: No. I haven't. The only reason that I stop
and think is that I remember…no. No. Sorry.
Q: Do people assume that because someone is good looking,
they’re promiscuous or don’t want a commitment?
Jude Law: Ask Paul Newman. I think that's probably
fair to say, but again, I'd probably revert back to a very kind
of…I don't know. It's not fair to say modern view because
I guess that goes back to the pinups. I think yeah. I think
that's probably true. If one is perceived to be s good looking
or one is perceived to be beautiful then one is thought of as,
'Well, you have the capacity to pull and therefore you want
to use that.' But that doesn't necessarily deal with the internal
workings of an individual and what makes them feel comfortable.
So I think that the preconception would probably stand on that,
but I don't think that it stands up.
Q: What’s your theory on why intelligent women
might fall for Alfie so easily?
Jude Law: I think also that's an element of Alfie's
personality that makes him quite complicated. Because he is,
after saying to you his confidants all these awful things, admitting
these sort of reprehensible feelings and thoughts about women,
he is actually a good guy to be around. I think he makes them
feel pretty fantastic when he wants to, when he's not bored
or he's not challenged. If you'll notice, right up until the
very point when they suddenly quite rightfully say, 'I'd kind
of like a little bit more,' which is when he normally about
turns and disappears, he's a pretty good partner. That's what
is so complicated about him. But in fact, he could probably
be a really fantastic boyfriend. But he just can't go that last
leap, and indeed the last leap is ultimately probably asking
himself, 'Well, what do I want, really?' I think that he's pretty
good at asking, 'What do you want?' It's a means to an end.
He knows what he's going to get out of it. I think he's pretty
responsive. I think that he's good at not manipulating himself,
but working the situation and making them feel pretty fantastic
about themselves. |
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