Interpreting a dialogue-driven mystery from the theater that is set mostly in one closed-in location is not an easy thing to accomplish. When making his version of Anthony Shaffer’s award-winning play, “Sleuth”, veteran director Joseph L Mankiewicz was smart enough to realize that what was important was finding the right actors for the two main characters in the movie
The actors he found were two of the best English actors of their respective generations. Sir Lawrence Olivier and Michael Cain (who was also knighted by the queen, but under is given name), are the two actors he chose. Their performances in the movie are what makes “Sleuth” one of the great filmed adaptions of dramatic theater. This is a dialogue-based film that never failed to grab my attention throughout, due to the acting of these two giants.
Cain, in his greatest role, plays Milo Tindle, who is a self-employed hairdresser of part Italian descent who, as the movie opens, has been invited to the strange mansion of the millionaire mystery writer Andrew Wyke (played brilliantly by Olivier). Wyke’s has invited Tindle to his home so that he can reveal to him that he is aware of the long-standing affair Tindle is having with his wife. From there, as part of the 1st of three distinct acts, Wyke’s gives Tindle a proposition that is too good to refuse.
That is all I will discuss about the plot, because to say anything else will ruin first time viewers from truly enjoying the movie. All I can say is that this is a cleverly constructed story that is full of wonderful surprises, brilliantly carried out by a first-rate cast.
If you, like me, enjoy good acting, then Sleuth is a movie that you must see. One of the benefits of taking a theatrical play onto the movie screen, is cinemas’ ability to get close and almost personal with the characters on the screen. Oliver and Cain succeed in adding such depth and intricacies to their characters that I felt throughout the film that I was really starting to understand their characters’ quirks and inner conflicts, while at the same time, I was greatly entertained by the constantly changing mystery unfolding before my eyes. While there are other credited actors in the movie, this is truly a two-man show.
Mankiewicz films the movie fairly straight forward, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as he lets his two great actors interact and take over the screen. While there are a few scenes here and there shot outside the mansion, most of the movie is confined to the inside den or bedroom. One of the visual treats, however, is the fact that Tindle is an obsessive game enthusiast, and his old country manor is full of human-sized dolls and larger than life games. One of the few outside shots is in a shrubbery maze that visitors must enter and find an exit from, to arrive at the front door. We see this maze right at the beginning of the film, and it gives us a hint as to what kind of man Tindle is.
Sleuth is the type of movie that is most enjoyed when seen for the first time. Because a large percentage of its fun is based on its many surprises, subsequent viewings are not especially captivating, having already realized what is going on. Still, if you only like to watch your movies once, and enjoy a clever, fun plot, “Sleuth” is one of the best films out there.
1001 Movies before you die 