High Fidelity

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HIGH FIDELITY

Music junkie Rob Gordon (John Cusack), the manager of a record store called Championship Vinyl which specialises in rare LPs, is miserable because his relationship with girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle) has just gone belly-up.

Frustrated by Rob's unwillingness to commit, Laura has traded him in for Ian (Tim Robbins), a new age guru with more hair than dress sense.

Somewhat emotionally stunted, Rob expresses his feelings as top five lists: Top Five Reasons I Miss Laura, Top Five Songs For Letting The Person Know Who Dumped You Know That Even Though They Broke Your Heart You Can't Get Over Them ... that sort of thing.

He is convinced that Laura won't make his Top Five All-Time Break-Ups, but after careful consideration, reluctantly awards her a new entry at number five. Determined to find out whether she is destined to rise to the top of his chart, he re-establishes contact with all of his old flames to clarify why they broke up.

Can Rob admit his instrumental role in each break-up and stop obsessing about the past long enough to realise how much he needs Laura, or will this romance like all the others crash and burn?

Translated from London to America, High Fidelity could have been an unmitigated disaster, a pale imitation of Nick Hornby's ribald bestseller. Thankfully scriptwriters Cusack, DV DeVincentis, Steve Pink and Scott Rosenberg treat the material with care and reverence, retaining the distinctive character of the book.

Cusack is wonderful as the loser in love who wins our sympathy with his easy-going charm. His to-camera soliloquies, reminiscent of Michael Caine in Alfie, are initially distracting but the transitions from confessional to conventional drama soon become seamless.

The more we get to know Rob, the more we like him, so much so we are completely willing to forgive his astounding insensitivity and lack of social tact.

Hjejle is luminous in her first American film, striking a pleasing balance between feisty and vulnerable. There's barely a hint of her Danish accent and she copes well with the picture's mood swings from comedy to high drama. Todd Louiso and Jack Black frequently steal scenes as the comedy double act with an encyclopaedic musical knowledge who work alongside Rob in Championship Vinyl. They bounce off one another with manic energy and create the sort of loveable freaks who have a habit of invading all of our lives.