By Ashley Elizabeth Smith in New York City

"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 an 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.

"Alfie" opens in theaters November 5th.