侦察 Sleuth review by PAM GRADY

Jude Law continues his assault on the oeuvre of Michael Caine that began with Alfie by tackling Sleuth. The results are more successful this time out, although perhaps not in the way Law intended. Co-starring opposite his evident hero, the older man virtually wipes him off the screen. But then would the world have it any other way? Not quite as gimmicky as the 1972 Joseph Mankiewicz film also based on the Anthony Schaffer play, this two-hander sometimes feels like an airless chamber piece, but it has its moments where Harold Pinter's wit and the actors' performances meld into something nearly sublime.
This is not precisely a remake. Pinter adapted the play from scratch, and it bears little resemblance to that first movie, except that the characters are a mystery writer named Andrew Wyke and a hairdresser named Milo Tindle (although in the new version Milo continues to protest that he is really an actor, however unsuccessful) and the story revolves around ual jealousy sparked by Tindle's affair with Wyke's wife. In the 1972 version, Laurence Olivier played Wyke as an elderly fussbudget with a passion for actual games, while Caine was the truculent Tindle. Now, Caine takes on the Wyke role and no fussbudget he, still virile in 70s and this Wyke's penchant is for head games.

Even Wyke's house is deceptive. A conservative country estate from the outside, inside it is a cold, modern space, complete with its own surveillance system to give Wyke a God's eye view of the house and grounds. Wyke has done his homework, able to guess correctly that Tindle will ask for scotch, having the drink poured before Milo even arrives.

Indeed, from the outset this looks like it will be no contest, Wyke seems so much better prepared for the encounter than Milo does and not willing to concede a single point to the younger man, even making fun of his car. But Tindle is more than just a pretty face and so once he catches on that the self-satisfied fat cat is toying with him, the little mouse proves that he has come ready to play.

Unlike in the original film, there is no clown suit and no clown shoes. And it is efficient, as Pinter and director Kenneth Branagh value brevity, whittling the story down to an efficient 87 minutes compared to the original Sleuth's 2 ?hours. But those are not the biggest improvements. Pinter's script is simply wittier with a new homoerotic element that deepens the relationship between the two men. The cast is superior, too; Wyke and Tindle are on more equal footing both in gamesmanship and romantic competition and that makes the games they play far more intriguing.

The major drawback to Sleuth is that is still a two-character study and that can sometimes feel both stagebound and suffocating. Also, like the first Sleuth, it relies on a gimmick left over from the stage play that may very well have been effective in the theater, but is less so magnified to movie screen proportions where the artifice shows.

Whatever its defects, this Sleuth is worth the price of admission just to watch the old pro Caine put Law through his paces. Law may have youth and beauty on his side, but Caine has sheer charisma and a towering talent.

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