Review: Sleuth

Brian Orndorf October 26, 2007 9:11 PM | Comments:

An update of the 1972 Laurence Olivier/Michael Caine thriller, the new "Sleuth" (IMDb listing) managed to convince Caine to return to his cinematic past. Perhaps the incentive was the chance to step into Olivier's shoes now that over 30 years have passed, or maybe the story's catnip appeal hasn't lost its potent scent. The bottom line is, the story was crackerjack then and it remains so in this wicked incarnation.

Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine) is a wealthy crime novelist, inviting his wife's lover, up-and-coming actor Milo (Jude Law), to his country house for a chat. While Milo is hoping to convince Andrew to divorce his wife, the author is more interested in a series of mind games. Convincing Milo to stage a robbery in his house to collect the insurance on lavish jewelry, Andrew sets in motion a plan to humiliate Milo, to which the young adulterer retaliates with his own extravagant designs for revenge.

The screenplay, based on Anthony Shaffer's play, has been sharpened by Nobel-winner Harold Pinter, who drains "Sleuth" of chilling menace and fills it back up again with psychosexual ambiance suited perfectly to the gifts of Caine and Law. Surely it doesn't contain the sweaty wrath of the 1972 Joseph Mankiewicz picture, but the reworking of the source material reveals a new gold mine of conflict to pillage, and director Kenneth Branagh is game to reach for the throat.

Because of the material's stilted theatrical background, inherently there's a distance to the verbal war between Milo and Andrew. "Sleuth" is simply two men bantering back and forth with increasing toxicity for 85 minutes (down from the 135 running time of the original film), leaving little room for narrative flamboyance. Where Mankewicz explored the claustrophobia of a massive home stuffed to the gills with ornamentation, Branagh heads the opposite way, staging the drama in a house of pristine minimalism, decorated with the finest, raised-pinkie efforts of the British modern art movement.

Andrew's home is a steel blue, icy bear trap where Milo finds himself in way over his head. The location allows Branagh to explore the theme of observation, through frequent security camera POVs, keeping the picture at arm's length until the moment he takes it to the next level of tension as Milo and Andrew's civility starts to splinter. From there, "Sleuth" becomes a study in nervous framing, where Branagh keeps the momentum of the performances on edge through extreme close-up, tightly monitoring the byzantine variety of reactions.

As this is the Law and Caine show, the actors welcome anything the script or Branagh throws at them. For Caine, the performance is a sly, vulnerable depiction of cerebral power. Law is the slightly dim lamb being led to the slaughter, and the range of emotions he must convey is impressive. The acting is impeccable, especially when it has to sell bizarre lapses in logic, or when Branagh can't quite create the illusion of mental dominance the script demands. I especially enjoyed the sexual twitch toward the end of the film, where Andrew makes Milo a colossal offer that seems too good to be true, with both men internally processing what could be if they simply took the female element out of the equation.

Divided into three acts, this war of ambiguity and deception doesn't always stay fresh. Even with a short running time, Branagh has difficulty retaining a taut pace, leading to moments of unanticipated slack. However, "Sleuth" remains an effective display of acting, with enough twists and turns to satisfy the newcomers and avoid insulting the faithful.

Filmfodder Grade: B

An update of the 1972 Laurence Olivier/Michael Caine thriller, the new\n\"Sleuth\" (IMDb listing) managed to convince Caine to return to his cinematic past.\nPerhaps the incentive was the chance to step into Olivier's shoes now\nthat over 30 years have passed, or maybe the story's catnip appeal\nhasn't lost its potent scent. The bottom line is, the story was\ncrackerjack then and it remains so in this wicked incarnation.\n\n

\n\nAndrew Wyke (Michael Caine) is a wealthy crime novelist, inviting his\nwife's lover, up-and-coming actor Milo (Jude Law), to his country\nhouse for a chat. While Milo is hoping to convince Andrew to divorce\nhis wife, the author is more interested in a series of mind games.\nConvincing Milo to stage a robbery in his house to collect the\ninsurance on lavish jewelry, Andrew sets in motion a plan to humiliate\nMilo, to which the young adulterer retaliates with his own extravagant\ndesigns for revenge.\n\n

\n\nThe screenplay, based on Anthony Shaffer's play, has been sharpened by\nNobel-winner Harold Pinter, who drains \"Sleuth\" of chilling menace and\nfills it back up again with psychosexual ambiance suited perfectly to\nthe gifts of Caine and Law. Surely it doesn't contain the sweaty wrath\nof the 1972 Joseph Mankiewicz picture, but the reworking of the source\nmaterial reveals a new gold mine of conflict to pillage, and director\nKenneth Branagh is game to reach for the throat.\n\n

\n\nBecause of the material's stilted theatrical background, inherently\nthere's a distance to the verbal war between Milo and Andrew. \"Sleuth\"\nis simply two men bantering back and forth with increasing toxicity\nfor 85 minutes (down from the 135 running time of the original film),\nleaving little room for narrative flamboyance. Where Mankewicz\nexplored the claustrophobia of a massive home stuffed to the gills\nwith ornamentation, Branagh heads the opposite way, staging the drama\nin a house of pristine minimalism, decorated with the finest,\nraised-pinkie efforts of the British modern art movement.\n\n

\n\nAndrew's home is a steel blue, icy bear trap where Milo finds himself\nin way over his head. The location allows Branagh to explore the theme\nof observation, through frequent security camera POVs, keeping the\npicture at arm's length until the moment he takes it to the next level\nof tension as Milo and Andrew's civility starts to splinter. From\nthere, \"Sleuth\" becomes a study in nervous framing, where Branagh\nkeeps the momentum of the performances on edge through extreme\nclose-up, tightly monitoring the byzantine variety of reactions.\n\n

\n\nAs this is the Law and Caine show, the actors welcome anything the\nscript or Branagh throws at them. For Caine, the performance is a sly,\nvulnerable depiction of cerebral power. Law is the slightly dim lamb\nbeing led to the slaughter, and the range of emotions he must convey is\nimpressive. The acting is impeccable, especially when it has to sell\nbizarre lapses in logic, or when Branagh can't quite create the\nillusion of mental dominance the script demands. I especially enjoyed\nthe sexual twitch toward the end of the film, where Andrew makes Milo\na colossal offer that seems too good to be true, with both men\ninternally processing what could be if they simply took the female\nelement out of the equation.\n

\nDivided into three acts, this war of ambiguity and\ndeception doesn't always stay fresh. Even with a short running time,\nBranagh has difficulty retaining a taut pace, leading to moments of\nunanticipated slack. However, \"Sleuth\" remains an effective display of\nacting, with enough twists and turns to satisfy the newcomers and\navoid insulting the faithful.

\nFilmfodder Grade: B

Review: Sleuth

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