High Fidelity
Directed by Stephen Frears.
All you John Cusack-fans out there, this film is for you. Even if you have no idea who Cusack is, it is more than likely that you will sympathise with his character by the end of the movie — that is how good an actor he is. High Fidelity is about problematic relationships, something most of us can relate to, whether we are the ones who left or the ones who were left.
Cusack’s character, Rob, is a man in his mid-thirties who has just been left by his long-time-partner Laura (Iben Hjejle). He starts listing the five most terrible break-ups of his life, neatly addressing the camera to engage the audience. Then he gets the idea to contact his former girlfriends to see what became of them.
Through Rob’s thoughts and his encounters with these women, we get to know him quite well. However, it is still mainly in the scenes from his old-style record shop, where he sells vinyls with his employees/friends Dick and Barry (brilliantly acted by Todd Louiso and Jack Black) — “the musical moron twins” — that we really get under Rob’s skin. All three of them have expert knowledge of music and this creates some hilarious dialogue.
What is so good about this film (and about the novel by Nick Hornby, on which it is based) is that it centres around the sometimes comic, sometimes painful struggle with self-examination that is known to most people in the Western world. Even though the story is told from a male perspective, women can find a lot of gratification in the way it exposes the ridiculous male nature and gives an insight into what break-ups can be like from a male point of view.
Stephen Frears’ direction is excellent. He manages to transport the story from London to Chicago in a most natural fashion. The music is abundant and simply fabulous. What more can I say? It made me smile. High Fidelity is not your average romantic comedy by a long shot.
Sol
