Sleuth (2007)

 A delightfully twisted, if uneven movie.
Two terrific actors try to out-smart each other in "Sleuth", a re-make of a 70's movie starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. This version also features Caine, but now he plays the "other" role, with Jude Law filling his shoes quite successfully.
Andrew Wyke (Caine) is a wealthy novelist living in a high-tech mansion, and he doesn't seem to mind horribly that his wife is cheating on him with Milo Tindle (Law). Milo comes to the mansion in order to discuss this arrangement, and also to persuade Andrew to sign the divorce papers. However, their very polite and sophisticated argument slowly evolves into something much more dangerous.
It is in a movie like this, that it is evident what terrific actors Caine and Law are. They are able to be interesting and versatile, so that when the score of their cat-and-mouse game turns, you actually believe it is the other man who suffers. His Royal Majesty, Kenneth Branagh, directs the movie with a firm hand, and it is very cathartic to watch all this talent go on display. However, I cannot bring myself to give it 4 stars, because of one 30 minutes-long scene somewhere around the middle, which is unbelievingly absurd, and obvious, and makes the characters look like they are blind/stupid/naive beyond reality. However, this doesn't make "Sleuth" bad - but it unfortunately makes it only a fun, engaging thriller instead of a perfect movie it could have been. April 22, 2008

 Cerebral Thriller
I enjoyed the new "Sleuth." Jude Law seems to be making a statement by replaying old Michael Caine roles, Alfie (Special Collector's Edition) and now "Sleuth." With two Oscar nominations for "The Talented Mr. Ripley" in '99 and "Cold Mountain" in 03, Law is one of the great working actors. In this film, he does an excellent job as the somewhat unsure Milo Tindle, the police inspector in disguise and then revealing Milo's sinister emotional underbelly.

Quite frankly, it's been years since I watched the Olivier version. More fresh in my mind is a stage version at East Carolina University where a shot was fired and about four seconds went by until the vase exploded. The actor turned to the audience and remarked, "That was a slow bullet!" So this DVD version comes with me straining to recall the 1972 version for which Michael Caine earned a Best Actor nomination.

Caine's career has been celebrated with nominations for "Alfie" in 1966, "Educating Rita" in 1983, "The Quiet American" in 2002, and two Oscars for "Hannah & Her Sisters" in 1986 & "Cider House Rules" in 1999. The DVD extras are interesting as Caine describes a minimalist emotional exterior allowing the lines and the audience's imagination to fill in the blanks. Caine gives a tightly controlled performance as Andrew Wyke. The difference between his and Olivier's performance is also of note from Caine's perspective in the DVD special features. I also found it interesting that this was shot in 4 weeks vs. 12 [think I recall that correctly] for the 1972 film.

Kenneth Branagh who was named as "Best New Director" for "Henry V" by the New York Film Critics Circle in 1989 keeps the cat & mouse game between these two characters ever moving and shifting. The result is a highly cerebral film demanding the viewer constantly focus on subtle shifts.

Harold Pinter has had two previous Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for "The French Lieutenant's Woman" in 1981 and "Betrayal" in 1983. He reshapes the original script with sado-homo-erotic overtones in the last third of the film. In short, this is the sleaziest of the versions I've seen, which seemed superimposed on the story.

Haris Zambarloukos turns in excellent work as cinematographer, keeping the action moving in this one-house set. I particularly appreciated the opening sequences shot from high in the house looking straight down. When Michael Caine shakes Jude Law's hand at the front door, all we see is an arm protruding from the entryway.

Celia Bobak earned an Oscar nomination as Best Art Director for "Phantom of the Opera" in 2004. Here she does an excellent job as set director, working with Ian White's art direction.

This is a stylish intense cerebral thriller with two blockbuster performances and good direction. Enjoy! April 14, 2008

 Sharper Image Gadgetry Replaces Mystery Genre Cliche
The cozy, traditional English exterior still stands but the inside has been gutted and replaced with a cold, sterile design. The plot still works until it degenerates in the Pinterian excess of the final third. These scenes play like a revival of The Collection and may feel more dated than the original version of Sleuth. Certainly, no demerits on the acting front, though. Both stars are superb.
There's an entertaining commentary with Branagh and Michael Caine that's at it's best when Ken quizzes him on the original film. (We also learn, remarkably, that when Jude asks him in the film "What's it all about?" this wasn't an inside joke and wasn't even spotted until the film was finished. I assumed that and Milo's new job as a part time chauffeur were throwaway Alfie asides.) April 13, 2008

 Worth seeing after the 1972 version
I loved the 1972 version of "Sleuth" where Sir Laurence Olivier played the cuckolded Andrew Wyck and Michael Caine played cocky young Milo Tindle who'd stolen Wyck's wife of 14 years. When I heard the film had been remade with Caine now in the role of the elderly Wyck, I had to see how he'd handle himself. While Caine was interesting in the reprised role, if you can see only one version of "Sleuth," see the original with Olivier and Caine. April 2, 2008

 Absolutely Awful!
Don't know why they bothered. Save your money. With these names - Branagh, Caine, Law, Pinter - I was expecting something great. This was labored, stylized, contrived and BORING! They changed the original story line in ways that dont even make any sense [I wont go into specifics - I dont want to give anything away].

Worst of all, Michael Caine - god help him! - keeps having flashbacks to the original: although Tindell is now an actor, he keeps calling him a hairdresser!

NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL - what on earth were they trying to do? March 23, 2008

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