Monday, November 5, 2024

Sleuth

Sleuth is a remake of a film made in the glorious 70s, when wordy dialogue and clever plot twists weren't jaded. The original starred Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine and paid off quite nicely under the astute direction of Joseph Mankiewicz (All About Eve), with the screenplay written by the play's author Anthony Shaffer (Frenzy). All in all it's the ultimate one-on-one thriller, a two person who-will-do-it that charms in spite of its trickster attitude.Fast forard to the present day and the mindset that states that updated sequels or reimagining an old story suits modern taste. Nothing could be further from the truth. As helmed by Kenneth Branagh (script by Harold Pinter) and feauring Caine (in the Olivier role) and Jude Law this Sleuth is one mistep after another. The film definitely doesn't work in the manner of the original. If you like the stars you may find it a guilty pleasure. Suffice it to say that the part where Law disguises himself as a padded detective from Scotland Yard looks fake to the audience so how is it supposed to fool the other character in the film.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home