High Fidelity

A comedy about fear of commitment, hating your job, falling in love and other pop favourites

HIGH FIDELITY (15)

D: Stephen Frears

Touchstone/Working Title (Tim Bevan & Ruud Simmons)

US/UK 2000

113 mins

Comedy/Romance

W: D. V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack & Scott Rosenberg [based on the novel by Nick Hornby]

DP: Seamus McGarvey

Ed: Mick Audsley

Mus: Howard Shore

John Cusack (Rob Gordon), Iben Hjejle (Laura), Todd Louiso (Dick), Jack Black(Barry), Lisa Bonet (Marie DeSalle), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Charlie), Joan Cusack (Liz), Tim Robbins (Ian), Lili Taylor (Sarah)

This screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel relocates the story from London to Chicago, but the transition works very well, losing very little of the good humour from the book.

Rob Gordon (Fleming in the book) runs a failing record store and is left under an even bigger raincloud when his girlfriend leaves him. He reminisces about his previous relationships in an attempt to find out the answers of how to make one a success.

John Cusack is perfectly cast as the neurotic, obsessive music lover, and while some of the better scenes from the book are tweaked or missing completely, it's a light-hearted, frank look at life's true loves. Jack Black is also fantastic as slobby rock music work colleague, Barry, who steals the entire movie away from Cusack in the closing scenes.

7/10