Sleuth

Review by Clint Morris

When is Hollywood going to learn (Hell, even Jude Law learning would be enough!) that remaking old Michael Caine movies doesn’t work. They’re like full-cream milk – tasty and ripe initially, but if you return to it a few weeks later, it’s curdled and unappealing.

First there was the ill-fated Get Carter remake (with Sylvester Stallone in the lead, and Caine in a supporting role) then there was the little-seen Alfie remake featuring Jude Law. A glutton for punishment, Law returns to play homage to Caine again in the Kenneth Branagh-directed redo of Sleuth.

About as compelling as ruffling a bag of chips, Sleuth, originally a play before it was a 1972 film starring Caine and Laurence Olivier, is the story of veteran mystery writer Andrew Wyke (first played by Olivier, now Caine) and actor Milo Tindle (first Caine, now Law) and their potentially lethal game of wits over Wyke's estranged wife, who we never actually see.

The film is a two-hander, driven by dialogue and set in the one location and thus, unfolds like the play it started as (not that that’s a bad thing, there’s been many good films based on plays) Branagh, whose directing this, has actually filmed many of them!

The major problem seems to be is that it struggles to hold your attention regardless of its originating platform. The twists aren’t surprising, the character’s motivations seem off and most notably, the wham-bam-thankyou-Mike ending is both hard to swallow and plays like a tacked-on 11th hour idea.

One of the biggest faults of the film is the entire second act – it’s terrible! Its supposed to be clever and we’re not surprised to know what’s going on, but from the moment the ‘detective’ knocks on the door of Milo’s mansion we know exactly what’s going on. That whole middle part of the film played like a scene from Charlies Angels – yes, like a spoof that needs montage music playing over it.

As poor as the film itself is, you can’t fault the performances of Caine and Law – they’re stellar. Caine revels in the role he watched Olivier make magic out of in the 70s and unleashes a side of him we haven’t seen before on film – a real prick. He’s good. Law, who also produced the film, is equally good – he’s definitely one of today’s best British actors.

Together the two bounce well off each other – they just needed someone with a little more expertise (the guy that wrote the film is a Nobel Peace Prize Winner for Literature - but since this is a film, that don’t much help! Akiva Goldsman could’ve done a better job of this!) to write their movie.

2 out of 5

Sleuth
Australian release: TBA
Cast: Michael Caine, Jude Law
Director: Kenneth Branagh