High Fidelity

The film is screened in a digitally restored print.

Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Lisa Bonet, Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Tim Robbins, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Runtime: 113'
Year of Production: 2000
Language: English
Subtitles: Greek

Just when we thought we had lost Stephen Frears, after a string of noble failures in the 1990s, he came back powerfully into the film news when he got hold of Nick Hornby's novel featuring Rob Gordon, a neurotic record store owner who is experiencing a recent breakup amd who thinks the whole world owes him. Frears' manner is subtle, his irony is not made obvious and that is why many people misinterpret «High Fidelity», especially in our time. Yes, he approaches Rob with a touch of tenderness, but he constantly mocks his narcissism and sets up the whole film as a story of (semi-)coming of age, at the end of which the hero has disposed much of his repulsive traits. Hornby's prose is full of lines that have left a mark, leading actor John Cusack knows the comedy genre and this character's temperament like the back of his hand, and the ubiquitous music keeps this indulging comedy on high film standards. Giannis Basileiou