Andrew Wyke is a famous and successful author of detective novels. Milo Tindle comes to him with a strange request - that Mr Wyke divorce his wife so that Tindle can marry her. Mr Wyke is not particularly perturbed by this - he and his wife have drifted apart and he is having an affair with another woman anyway - but uses the meeting and Mr Tindle's request as a chance to play a game, a game with potentially deadly consequences.Clever, intriguing thriller. Directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz, written by Anthony Shaffer and based on his play, this is a great exhibition of well-written dialogue, excellent, keep-you-guessing, twists-and- turns plot, solid direction and two brilliant actors - Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine - at the top of their game. Very clever, original and powerful.Not perfect - the first half felt a bit clumsy at times and not entirely watertight, plot-wise in spells. The clown outfit was a tad silly and unrealistic. The seeming lack-of-watertightness makes sense in the end, so is not ultimately a problem, but at the time it was a bit jarring.Remade in 2007 with Michael Caine taking Laurence Olivier's role, Jude Law taking Michael Caine's role, written by Harold Pinter and directed by Kenneth Brannagh. On paper the remake had the potential to be as good as the original but ultimately falls very far short. Feels like a play, and just seems pretentious, lacking in suspense and empty. Shows just how good the 1972 version is, as it was based on the same play.

People who think games of cat-and-mouse were popularized by modern series like frickin' Death Note need to take a good hard look at not only themselves, but films like Sleuth. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve) and written by Anthony Schaffer (Frenzy, The Wicker Man), this film is classic game of cat and mouse jam-packed with memorable scenes and dialogue.The game/film starts with hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) visiting mystery writer Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier) at his large country house. Milo is dating Andrew's wife Marguerite, you see, so already we've got a conflict of interest. Andrew, however, has no qualms about divorcing her, but doesn't want to drown in alimony in the process. Marguerite has expensive tastes, you see. After getting to know (and dislike) each other a bit, Andrew proposes a plan: Milo will rob some valuable jewels in his house which he can then pawn off in Amsterdam while Andrew collects the insurance money. All goes well, until… Honestly, I could describe what happens then, but that plot twist occurs around the one hour mark, so that would ruin a bit too much of the fun.Being a game of cat and mouse, the film has lots of fun with familiar tropes in this genre. I always sensibly chuckle whenever collecting insurance money is a major plot element. The fact that Andrew is himself a mystery writer only makes it better. The film's ending is also a wonderfully literal visualization of that good old mystery trope, the last laugh. Thankfully, however, the self-awareness doesn't ruin the suspense. Quite the opposite. There's a lot of tension hidden under the veritable mountain of witty lines.I will say that I didn't love Sleuth after first seeing it many years ago. It's mostly to do with something involving a disguise. At the time, I immediately identified him for who he really was so the eventual reveal was disappointing. I always assumed it was supposed to be this big twist for the audience, but since it failed miserably, I felt disappointed with the film. Having watched it again recently, I figure the joke is supposed to be on the other character and not the audience. The audience, rather than being surprised, can anticipate the other guy's reaction when he discovers he's been deceived. At least, I hope that's the case.Now, the acting. It's easily half the film. The film is roughly 2 hours and 15 minutes long and it all mostly takes place in Andrew's house, but it never gets boring and it's precisely due to the acting and the witty screenplay. The entire film is predicated upon Milo and Andrew verbally sparring and it doesn't disappoint. Both Caine and Olivier don't miss a single beat and the script's supply of morbidly delightful lines is virtually limitless. Mankiewicz's direction also helps. He makes up for the lack of variety in locales by occasionally cutting to quick shots of the house's bizarre decorations, which include an array of dolls, to reinforce the sense of dread underlying the proceedings.As to why the film is still impressive, I assume it's to do with a combination of witty dialogue, acting and…its brand of cruelty. It's not so much in what they force each other to do, but what they force each other to feel. It's why Sleuth is such a funny, but also cruel film even by today's standards. Today, cruelty is primarily exemplified by physical pain as seen in the Saw films, etc. Sleuth is the exact opposite. It's about humiliation and inflicting as much psychological pain on each other.But make no mistake, Sleuth is also very funny. You have to ignore your expectations of typical dramas and go into Sleuth expecting a game, albeit a morbid one. The film is at its core quite ridiculous, but that's part of the deal…and the fun.

"Sleuth" is a mystery movie in which we watch a man who invites his wife's lover to his house. There he sets up many kinds of games as he is a fan of games and a lover of films. Although these games are a bit different than usual and everyone has to be very careful with these because otherwise can have bad results.When I saw this movie I did not really have much expectations from this movie but I have to say that this movie surprised me in a good way. I liked this movie because of the plot which I believe it was very good and had many swifts. That was something that kept me in tense in the whole film. I also have to say that the interpretation of Michael Caine who played as Milo Tindle was really good and equally good was the interpretation of Laurence Olivier who played as Andrew Wyke.Finally I believe that "Sleuth" is a really different movie than those movies that everyone has watched because it combines very well mystery with thriller and these two with plenty of swifts. That's something that makes this movie special and unique, that was the most important reason why I liked this movie and also because I could not imagine or expect what will happen next.

I believe the title of Sleuth may be misleading. When I first approached it I wasn't aware of the stage play it was based on and thought the film was going to be a standard "whodunit?" and thus wasn't expecting much from it. I couldn't have been more wrong. Watching it I soon discovered it to be a different film entirely, a giant mind game, a battle of wits and a tale of revenge. I've never seen a film quite like Sleuth before. The exploits between Michael Caine and Laurence Oliver trying to outwit each other with the plot's many twists, surprises and under the direction of Joseph L. Mankiewicz' (a master at handling dialogue) makes for a film that's hard to forget.Watching this film I quickly came to realize that Caine and Olivier may be the only two cast members throughout, which had me thinking if they could carry the film to the very end by themselves it will be nothing short of an acting marvel, so I was disappointed when the movie introduced what appeared to be a third cast member, Alec Cawthrone as Inspector Doppler; I felt the movie was making a mistake by doing so. That was until it turned out that Inspector Doppler was Michael Caine in disguise the whole time, yes, there's no such actor as Alec Cawthrone, he was simply created for the film's credits. I'm not sure how many people will be as perceptible as I was but the movie successfully fooled this viewer. On second viewing I can clearly see Caine through the disguise but I'll always have the memory to cherish of being spellbound the first time round from seeing Caine taking off all that makeup, which itself makes up appreciate the art form. Sleuth actually has a fake cast list in the opening credits in an attempt to fool the audience; this includes three other nonexistent actors, one of which is named after the character Eve Channing from Joseph L. Mankiewicz' earlier film All About Eve. Up until the film's very last scene in which police sirens and knocking on the door can be heard, I was edge of my seat hoping the movie would not introduce another cast member.I've always liked Michael Caine but Sleuth greatly increased my respect for him, while also making me a fan Laurence Olivier; their ability to carry this film is nothing short of phenomenal. Milo Tindle is one of Caine's more effeminate roles, a hairdresser who even takes joy in wearing a piece of women's clothing at one point. Olivier on the other hand is the given the opportunity to have tons of fun with his role of Andrew Wyke, doing impressions and playing dress up with another grown man and with all those gadgets, gizmos and games everywhere, it's always a pleasure to look into the background of Andrew Wyke's manor. Likewise the humor that comes from seeing a man be show how convinced that dressing as a clown is the way to go when doing a stage crime, has me laughing nonstop through the entire charade.