Sleuth (1972)

Best movie of this year hands down!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Sleuth" was the final film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and so far it is the only one that I've ever seen, and it's a complete and total masterpiece. the movie is based on the popular Broadway play of the same name by Anthony Shaffer who also wrote the screenplay of the film as well. The main character of the film is a middle aged British crime novelist named Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) who invites a young hairdresser to his huge mansion named Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) who happens to be in love with Wyke's wife and both men try to get revenge on each other by playing dangerous games on each other throughout the rest of the movie. The film was the second of four movies that Olivier and Caine made together and in this movie they give very impressive performances which are so good it surprises me that those two actually weren't the original actors for the original Broadway production, and as a result they both got well deserved best actor Oscar nominations for their profound work. Shaffer's script along with John Addison's Oscar nominated score and especially Mankiewicz's Oscar nominated direction kept me on the edge of my seat throughout most of the entire film. I wrote in my review of "Death on the Nile" that I felt like I was watching a clue game in the form of a movie, but with this movie I felt the same way but the only difference being that this movie only has a 2 person cast. It is very unfortunate to me that these days Hollywood is remaking a lot of the great masterpieces of the last century but this movie was remade in 2007, and this is a movie that should never have been remade. In an interview a few months before his death Paul Newman was looking back on his career as an actor and in that very same interview he said "No one should ever remake "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." This movie is a pure example of what mystery movies should be like and how they should be made, and is arguably one of the best mysteries I've seen that wasn't directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This is one of 1972's ten best films

As you'll find out very quickly during the film, there are basically two characters in this whole entire 2:20 runtime. Needless to say considering the sort of very intricate dialog required for this film's atmosphere, the closer attention to cinematography, and just overall the very highly ambitious construction around such a basic plot...there is an enormous amount of work on display in this piece, and about half the film relies on both lead actors Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier who produce masterful performances, and whether too theatrical for the tastes of some, there's no denying the excellence manifested throughout this eerie comedy. So there's no questioning the cumulative quality of all those elements, from the acting to the cinematography, the fine structure, and the very well done job for such a limited setting. But the problem here is the film is arguably 30 minutes too long, not that the film even stretches its scenes but rather adds just too much in the end. There's just too much "Sleuth" in 'Sleuth'. The film feels like it's about a couple of mystery-thrillers in one, there are just too many elements in the story, too many full acts put together, it's just too heavy for one single motion picture and the whole point of it could've been delivered without some of its extra weight. As we're through a good 1hr30, there comes another full act to the play with its own tensions, events... it's a little bit of overkill really. But this doesn't take away the great cinema work besides that aspect. It's just that when past that point of smooth rhythm and a few good twists already, the viewer is left with the ending as a final impression as the conclusion of the whole piece; and one could very well feel the last chapter here is on the side of excess spoiling an otherwise grand coup of cinema.

Crime fiction writer Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) invites hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine). He surprises Milo with questioning if he wanted to marry his wife Marguerite. Marguerite is high maintenance and he suggests a scheme to Milo to steal his jewelery while he claims the insurance. After guiding Milo all around the house in a fake break-in, he shoots Milo. Inspector Doppler comes to investigate Milo's disappearance but it's only the start of the continuing twists.What's the motivation for Milo to go see Andrew in the first place? What's in the note? That kind of bothered me. It starts like an Agatha Christie murder mystery in that it feels fake. It's highly questionable why Milo would trust anything that Andrew comes up with. The whole fake break-in feels fake. Luckily it's a little comical. It's fun to have Olivier and Caine play around but I never bought into the whole premise. I'm not thrilled by all the twists and turns. It felt like manufactured story constructions but Olivier and Caine are wonderful.

Sleuth is a screen writing master class. Rich writer Andrew (Olivier, rarely better) invites Milo (Caine, a worthy sparring partner) to his country mansion with an offer. What starts as a heist movie becomes a psychological thriller about vengeful men trying to outplay each other.Now, how do you keep a story about few characters stuck in a single location interesting? First, conflict. The movie is drenched in it. Milo - young, handsome - is the lover of Andrew's wife. Andrew claims not to care but, from the way he glances at her portrait or casually trashes her stuff, we know better. Class antagonism sizzles. To Andrew, Milo is an upstart, a social climber - and a son of immigrants, to boot. To Milo, Andrew is a pathetic relic, obsessed with games and murder mystery novels. Two men who dislike each other and yet have to interact and cooperate - this is inherently compelling to watch.Second, variety. Sleuth continuously challenges the viewer's allegiance. We are never sure whom we are rooting for - both characters are, at their core, unpleasant, reptilian sickos, but they are smart and unpredictable. Situation is fluid, always evolving; they're constantly turning the tables on each other.Third, dialogue. Each of the two leads has his own peculiar voice. Erudite Andrew asks Milo to trash the room, as to create believable signs of struggle, and adds: "Convincing, not Carthaginian". A bitter undertone of class resentment often slips into Milo's words: "We come from different worlds, you and me... the only game we played was to survive... if you didn't win, you just didn't finish. Loser, lose all. You probably don't understand that".As the plot unfolds, games become the main theme of the movie. Sex as a game ("And marriage is the penalty!", comments Andrew); a criminal plan temporarily becoming a playful bonding moment for the two; class-conflict as a zero-sum game; the constant attempt to show one's superiority over the other. Then games take a darker turn - somewhere between Darwin and Freud. The sadistic pleasure of knowing you've got the best hand against a hated adversary becomes the whole purpose of the game itself.9/10