X
- 2007
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 28 m
- 2007
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 28 m
Summary A millionaire detective novelist matches wits with the unemployed actor who ran off with his wife in a deadly serious, seriously twisted game with dangerous consequences. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh
Written By: Anthony Shaffer, Harold Pinter
- 2007
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 28 m
- 2007
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 28 m
Sleuth
49
6.5
Where to Watch
Summary A millionaire detective novelist matches wits with the unemployed actor who ran off with his wife in a deadly serious, seriously twisted game with dangerous consequences. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh
Written By: Anthony Shaffer, Harold Pinter
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
49
37% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
47% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
17% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 30 Critic Reviews
49
37% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
47% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
17% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
A pretty good movie. It just isn't a very good "Sleuth," exactly.
Despite top-flight acting from Michael Caine and Jude Law, it loses its grip in the third act and let's the air out of what might have been a memorably gripping film.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
6.5
46% Positive
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
43% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
11% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 User Ratings
6.5
46% Positive
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
43% Mixed
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
11% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Chamber film with 2 magnificent actors. I love this genre of cinema very much, as here it is best to see what acting the actor possesses. And Jude Law shows itself perfectly, the same can be said about the game Michael Caine. Unfortunately, the story itself is trivial, the decorations of the house in which the action itself takes place are also not surprising. The film should be watched by fans of actors or the genre of chamber cinema.
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The 1972 movie was better paced and presented a superior story but this one has its own pleasures. It's an interesting failure - a film that works more successfully as a study of technique and writing than as a motion picture.
Little more than a sleek, stylish stunt.
The result is unfortunate: Pinter can't find emotional depths that just aren't there, but dispenses with most of what made the original entertaining in the search for them.
Whatever pleasure can be wrung from Sleuth lies in the black comedy of Caine and Law's sinuous symbiosis.
The result is that what was once insignificant is now insufferable.
One of those dialog heavy films that, if you enjoy conversation in film the way I do, you'll enjoy. It's not something that demands repeat viewings like a Lynch, Kubrick or Leigh film, but it'll hold your attention just for the fact that you will want to see what happens next... and how it will end. It's fun to watch Caine and Law try to "one-up" each other, as the film is pretty much a game or contest. It is almost one of those "day-in-the-life" movies (but actually takes place over two separate days). Good acting, great first and second act but, semi-weak third act. Not bad, not great.
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Obviously adapted from a play - the characters stand around and wait, doing nothing until it's their turn to talk. Probably the worst adaption from a play to a movie I've ever seen. And more importantly, as is often the case with plays (for whatever reason), the characters talk and behave completely unrealistically. Especially at the end. [EDITED TO ADD] I've never seen the old movie or the play, but I just read the synopsis of the old movie, and it the ending sounds like it makes a LOT more sense than this one. Watch that one instead.
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Production Company
Sony Pictures Classics,
Castle Rock Entertainment,
Riff Raff Entertainment,
Timnick Films,
Mandate Pictures
Release Date Oct 12, 2007
Duration 1 h 28 m
Rating R
Tagline Obey the rules.
Awards
Venice Film Festival
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Nomination
