Sleuth: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Sleuth is a film with two great actors and three great performances.  It is a film of twists, crosses, and horrific realizations that leaves its audience emotionally exhausted and stunned.  Based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name by Anthony Shaffer, Sleuth magnificently transforms its story into the language of cinema. The film clocks in at over two hours. However, I can only reveal what happens in the first 30 minutes. To disclose anything else would be to rob potential viewers from an unforgettable experience.  So, allow me to set the scene: Andrew Wyke, a rich writer of detective fiction, invites a hairdresser named Milo Tindle to his country estate. Wyke reveals that he knows that Tindle has been having an affair with his wife, Marguerite. But instead of anger, Wyke expresses relief. It turns out that Wyke has grown weary of his marriage and was looking for a way out. So he shares a plan with Tindle: he will "break" into Wyke's mansion, steal a collection of priceless jewels, and sell them through a prominent fence that he knows in Europe. Then Wyke will collect the insurance money off the jewelry. That way, Wyke gets his money and Tindle will have a substantial nest egg with which to maintain Marguerite's lavish lifestyle. So Wyke helps Tindle stage the "perfect" crime. The only problem is that Wyke actually wants to kill Tindle for stealing his wife. By helping Tindle break into his house, he can kill him in "self-defense" and not be persecuted by the police. Now, you may think that I have spoiled the movie. The truth is that this is merely the first of three major plot twists that take place in Sleuth. Each one is more startling than the last. And, incredibly, none of them seem contrived.  As I mentioned, the film only has two actors. A surprisingly energetic Laurence Olivier plays the eccentric Wyke while Michael Caine takes the role of the unfortunate hairdresser. These two actors have more than just chemistry; they have a genuine presence onscreen. To watch them is to witness two of Britain's greatest screen actors at the very top of their game. After years of icy, restrained Shakespeare performances in such films as Henry V (1944) and Hamlet (1948), to see Olivier with such a spark in his step testifies to his indomitable talent as an actor. And Michael Caine...well...I'll let you discover what makes his performance so powerful. Abandon all preconceptions. Sleuth is a film that you simply can't predict or expect.

10/10