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    Sleuth

    • 20072007
    • RR
    • 1h 28min
    IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    31K
    YOUR RATING
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Jude Law and Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Theatrical Trailer from Sony Pictures Classics
    Trailer1:59
    1 Video
    56 Photos
    CrimeDramaMystery

    On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.On his sprawling country estate, an aging writer matches wits with the struggling actor who has stolen his wife's heart.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
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kenneth Branagh
    • Writers
      • Anthony Shaffer(adapted from the play by)
      • Harold Pinter(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Michael Caine
      • Jude Law
      • Harold Pinter
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 125User reviews
    • 144Critic reviews
    • 49Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 6 nominations

    Videos1

    Sleuth
    Trailer 1:59
    Sleuth

    Photos56

    Jude Law and Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law in Sleuth (2007)
    Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law in Sleuth (2007)
    Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law and Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law and Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law and Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law and Michael Caine in Sleuth (2007)
    Jude Law in Sleuth (2007)
    Kenneth Branagh, Jude Law, Michael Caine, and Harold Pinter in Sleuth (2007)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Caine
    Michael Caine
    • Andrewas Andrew
    Jude Law
    Jude Law
    • Miloas Milo
    Harold Pinter
    Harold Pinter
    • Man on T.V.as Man on T.V.
    Kenneth Branagh
    Kenneth Branagh
    • Other Man on T.V.as Other Man on T.V.
    • (uncredited)
    Carmel O'Sullivan
    • Maggieas Maggie
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Kenneth Branagh
    • Writers
      • Anthony Shaffer(adapted from the play by)
      • Harold Pinter(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Postalj (Taken from Sa'ar Vardi's post)
    unfaithfulnesswatching tvdeceptionstanding on a bedliterature on screen139 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Obey the rules.
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for strong language
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Sir Michael Caine (Andrew Wyke) played the role of Milo Tindle in the first adaptation of the play: Sleuth (1972).
    • Goofs
      (at around 1h 6 mins) The jewels that Milo puts onto Andrew disappear after Milo tells Andrew that it is just a game.
    • Quotes

      Milo Tindle: Maggie never told me you were... such a manipulator. She told me you were no good in bed, but she never told me you were such a manipulator.

      Andrew Wyke: She told you I was no good in bed?

      Milo Tindle: Oh, yes.

      Andrew Wyke: She was joking. I'm wonderful in bed.

      Milo Tindle: I must tell her.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Elizabeth: The Golden Age/Lars and the Real Girl/Sleuth/We Own the Night/My Kid Could Paint That (2007)

    User reviews125

    Review
    Top review
    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.
    helpful•46
    32
    • jdesando
    • Nov 27, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 23, 2007 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Juegos siniestros
    • Filming locations
      • Twickenham Film Studios, St Margarets, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Sony Pictures Classics
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
      • Riff Raff Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $342,895
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $50,100
      • Oct 14, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,889,751
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 28min
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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