Sleuth (2007)

On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

Anthony Shaffer (adapted from the play by), Harold Pinter (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Jude Law, Harold Pinter

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Caine	...	Andrew
Jude Law	...	Milo
Harold Pinter	...	Man on T.V.

Storyline

Two extremely clever British men are in a game of trickery and deceit. Andrew Wyke, an aging famous author who lives alone in a high-tech mansion, after his wife Maggie has left him for a younger man; and Milo Tindle, an aspiring actor, equipped with charm and wit, who demonstrates both qualities once again. When Wyke invites Tindle to his mansion, Tindle seeks to convince the former into letting his wife go by signing the divorce paper. However, Wyke seems far more interested in playing mind games with his wife's new lover, and lures him into a series of actions he thoroughly planned in seeking revenge on his unfaithful spouse.

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Plot Keywords:

unfaithfulness | watching tv | deception | standing on a bed | actor | 

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Taglines:

Obey the rules.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States] Paramount Pictures [UK]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Juegos siniestros

Filming Locations:

Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$46,265, 14 October 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$342,835, 20 January 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sony Pictures Classics, Castle Rock Entertainment, Riff Raff Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final produced screenplay of playwright Harold Pinter, as well as Pinter's final appearance in a filmed production.

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Goofs

To clean his face, Tindle pours lots of alcohol on his face, so his t-shirt gets wet. In the following shot, his t-shirt is dry.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Andrew Wyke: Yes?
Milo Tindle: Andrew Wyke?
Andrew Wyke: That's right.
Milo Tindle: I'm Milo Tindle.

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Connections

Featured in Sleuth: Inspector Black - Make-up Secrets Revealed (2008)

User Reviews

More than meets the eye.

"If thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a sport." Iago in Shakespeare's Othello

Anthony Shaffer's brother, Peter, was famously about "What's that all about?" if you remember the mysteries of Equus. Playwright Anthony's Sleuth also requires a competent literary "sleuth" to figure out the multiple levels of meaning in a film that could be just about revenge if you looked no further. This brilliant adaptation by Pulitzer-winner and minimalist Harold Pinter contains his usual spare dialogue and non sequitur logic to provoke wonderment and amusement in a discerning audience that knows there's more than meets the eye and ear.

Wealthy novelist Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine) is visited in his impressive estate by his wife's lover, Milo Tindle (Jude Law). From the first interchange about the superiority of Wyke's car, which is placed nose to nose with Tindle's in an obviously figurative bird's-eye shot, the debate takes on a tennis metaphor, where each combatant takes a set and the resolution becomes a tangled endgame.

While it is easy to guess Shaffer has planned the author initially to be the manipulative superior as he guides his guest through one of the year's best set designs with its modern sharp edges and dazzling electronics, the play/film evolves with each character (this is a two hander where not even the tennis-ball wife physically intrudes) gets a chance to prove his worth for the absent but always present wife. Director Kenneth Branagh's close-ups are merciless upon Caine's age lines emphasizing his wisdom and Law's beauty featuring his youthful volatility and vulnerability. But the prevalent high angle motif puts all the mayhem in perspective: The cuckold will not be denied, no matter how daring, resourceful, and remorseless the intruder is; the men's sexuality will be challenged no matter how masculine the actors are. Ambiguity rules as it should in all effective literature and in life itself.

While the screenplay is literate beyond anything out there all year, the film belongs to the actors, Law soaring beyond his Ripley charm and Caine even better than when he played Law's Tindle in a previous screen version 35 years ago. The story about infidelity is universally appealing, as if it had never been told before and justice had never been rendered so well.