Firstly I'd like to say I think the first 40 minutes of Sleuth are brilliant, Michael Caine and Jude Law are superb. They share a great chemistry and really enjoy the roles. Other highlights are the tension building score, Harold Pinter's bruising, although humorous script (some great black laughs), Kenneth Branagh's assured direction, great angle shots and the heavy interior visuals of Caine's house.
The first half of this film is probably the most fun I've had in a cinema this year and is the very reason for me giving it a high 8/10. A stumble in the last half hour or so can (just) be forgiven.
In the final third, Pinter just fails to dig out anything worth doing, mainly because there's only so far you can stretch an idea with one setting and only two main actors.
About the performances, Caine is flawless throughout and like I said, Law is also brilliant for an hour or so but slowly goes downhill until the end. The third act just doesn't give him enough to chew on and show what he can do.
Overall, I think Sleuth is a very good mystery movie with excellence performances and an amazing screenplay with plenty of twists along the way to keep you guessing. I enjoyed this version more than the original and is definitely worth checking out.
The first half of this film is probably the most fun I've had in a cinema this year and is the very reason for me giving it a high 8/10. A stumble in the last half hour or so can (just) be forgiven.
In the final third, Pinter just fails to dig out anything worth doing, mainly because there's only so far you can stretch an idea with one setting and only two main actors.
About the performances, Caine is flawless throughout and like I said, Law is also brilliant for an hour or so but slowly goes downhill until the end. The third act just doesn't give him enough to chew on and show what he can do.
Overall, I think Sleuth is a very good mystery movie with excellence performances and an amazing screenplay with plenty of twists along the way to keep you guessing. I enjoyed this version more than the original and is definitely worth checking out.