In a game of one-upmanship, it’s good to have to two notoriously roguish and talented Limeys going mano-a-mano. This remake of “Slueth,” like the first 1972 film adaptation of Anthony Shaffer’s play, is intrinsically stage-bound and dialogue-heavy. It is set up that way, as a contest of wills between the cuckolded rich elder mystery novelist and the handsome ne’er-do-well lothario who is having an affair with his wife. No other major characters exist on screen to augment the ever-escalating — and farcically contrived — revenge scenario going on between them.
But there a few deliciously biting flashes of fun here, because Michael Caine and Jude Law happen to be the blokes in the roles. With director Kenneth Branagh and legendary writer Harold Pinter adapting this version for them, the piece continues to play as a most British affair. Caine is returning in the senior role after he portrayed the junior one in the original picture against Lawrence Olivier 35 years ago.
Pinter modernizes the language with frankness and the characters with a decided homoerotic undercurrent, while Branagh updates the setting. The previous film had taken place on a traditional English country estate. The vicious talkathon now unfolds within a cold, high-contemporary interior. The harsh minimalist backdrop serves as a kind of visual mousetrap, but the identity of who is the cat and who is the mouse will alternate back and forth.
At first, when aspiring actor Milo Tindle (Law) arrives at Andrew Wyke’s swanky home, the lord of the manor (Caine) is the master of manipulation as a professional creator of crime thrillers and as a very angry and jealous husband. Milo wants Andrew to give his gorgeous wife a divorce so the two young lovers can live on a generous settlement. But clever old Andrew uses Milo’s apparent lust and greed against him, tempting him into an elaborate scheme that could involve a pretend jewel heist, an insurance scam and possibly even murder.
The tables soon turn, making Andrew the fool. Unfortunately, that sequence requires a conceit that Caine’s character hasn’t guessed but that the audience knows all along. The narrative gets silly. But Caine and Law continue to look like they are having a ball with the below-the-belt sniping and physical sparring as itintensifies. They together make “Sleuth” a nice Netflix rental if not a multiplex must-see.
‘Sleuth’
***
Starring: Michael Caine, Jude Law
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Rated R for strong language
Running time: 88 minutes
