"High Fidelity" is based on the novel of same name written by Nick Hornby. Directed magnificently by Stephen Frears and starring the very talented John Cusack who also co-produced the film, makes it one of the best films of all time. It seems to be the joint work of these two people that make the film the amusing, heartfelt experience that it is. I've never actually seen "The Griffers" but it's an earlier example of Stephen and Jack working together to produce a successful film.

I only watched this film as my friend hired it, other wise I wouldn't have bothered, as the synopsis isn't that appealing. A man having trouble with his love life revisiting his past by talking to his ex-girlfriends and finding out why they wanted to end it with him. The thought of that and "comedy" made the film sound as if it would be suitable for a group of adolescents at a sleepover, I was mistaken.

John Cusack plays the very complex character Rob Gordon. He owns a record store, so often his feelings are expressed through music or discussions on the ultimate top 5 songs to break up to. His girlfriend has just left him, Laura played by Iben Hjejle. This leads him to wondering why women never stay with him and so he compiles a worst 5 break-up list and visits all his ex-girlfriends to find out what the problem is. This leads to a world of self-discovery and in a sense maturity of his character when he realises he's afraid of commitment. He changes himself and to an extent overcomes these problems, the question is, is it too late for him and Laura to get back together?

What makes this film quite unique is the fact Rob narrates the film and often will speak to the camera directing his speech at us, the viewers. To start with I found this slightly strange but it provides an extra depth to the film. His character becomes more understandable and as the viewer you feel happier when he does, more emotional when he does
and you feel the blows from life when he does. So it's a very heartfelt film.

The comedy is quite dry and so really appealed to me. It wasn't full of teen type comedy but almost to the level that adults would appreciate. I found most of the comedy in an indirect way from Rob himself however the central jokey character is Barry, played by Jack Black. Some may find him slightly annoying however he is fairly useful to develop the other characters.

Overall this is an excellent watch and I definitely recommend it. Obviously I have only briefly described the main storyline otherwise what's the point of you watching it? There are many other twists and quite a strong focus on the music side of things, in fact quite an inspiration! I am definitely tempted to read the book now so I can see how good the screen adaptation was!