The first great film of 2000 - a top 5 fave!

Rating: 10/10 (11 April 2000)

Being a John Cusack fan to begin with, I went into HIGH FIDELITY expecting a good John Cusack flick, but hardly one with much depth or social significance. Upon leaving the theatre, I was dumbfounded by what I'd just seen. After losing a night's worth of sleep thinking about the movie, I concluded that in my estimation it was one of the greatest true-to-life character studies of all time.
HIGH FIDELITY's excellence begins with the amazing cast of talent, starting at the top with John Cusack. Cusack was not an actor portraying Rob Gordon, he WAS Rob Gordon. His range was fully explored in this film, from outstanding comedic timing on par with some of the greats, to a hidden sensitivity and vulnerability in relationships to which so many of us can relate. Not to mention the perfect execution of his monologues to the audience.
And then the list of wonderful performances runs down the list from Jack Black and Todd Louiso, to Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joan Cusack and alas Tim Robbins. Though not a stand out, Iben Hjejle was convincing as a woman who would be worth falling in love with. There was not a single character in this film that, at one point or another in our lives, we have not met ourselves.
The writing is superb and the soundtrack, as expected, is fantastic. A beautifully shot film as well, it's worth paying to see it on the big screen. It's a bit of a travesty that so many people are missing out on seeing this movie - bringing it in at a very modest 8th on the box office top ten - but don't let that fool you into thinking it's not worth your eight bucks. Stephen Frears and John Cusack have turned out an Oscar worthy film. 10 / 10 (or, #1 on the top 5 list)