BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Directed by critically-acclaimed director Kenneth Branagh, Jude Law and two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine join forces in this sharp-wtted, modern adaptation of the 1972 classic, Sleuth. Locked in a high tech English manor, bound in a deadly duel of wits, Andrew Wyke (Caine) and Milo Tindle (Law) come together as English gentlemen to discuss the matter of Wyke's wife: the woman both are sleeping with. But as wit becomes wicked and clever becomes cutthroat, Wyke and Tindle's game of one-upmanship spirals out of control in an escalating chess match that can have only one outcome: murder.

FILM REVIEW: You’d be hard pressed to call “Sleuth” a film in the strictest sense, despite the valiant attempt by director Kenneth Branagh to give the film a dynamic visual look. Based on a theatre play, and a former film version, this quick-witted tale of two men trying to outplay each other features some very rich and entertaining performances from both Michael Caine and Jude Law as the only cast members. The narrative is both engaging and amusing, keeping you guessing until the end. Only a softer third act and the fact that the story is set entirely in one location leaves “Sleuth” falling short of the mark; after watching this film, you can see how good a theatre production it would have made.

Michael Caine plays Andrew Wyke, a rich crime novelist who invites the younger Milo Tindle (Jude Law) to his home for a chat. It turns out they are both sharing Wyke’s wife. Tindle tries to force Wyke in to giving his wife a divorce so she can be together with Tindle. Wyke agrees, but only after Tindle executes an elaborate plan to stage a robbery, the effect of which will ensure Wyke will be rid of his wife and Tindle gets what he wants. It all sounds smooth sailing until the game starts escalating wildly out of control, and these two smart, ruthless men start playing each other’s strengths and weaknesses until one of them ends up dead.

The absolute strength of this film lies in its writing and performances. The dialogue in the first half of the film is nothing short of brilliant; aside from being witty and intelligent, it’s highly amusing. Both Michael Caine and Jude Law elevate the material far beyond its already great origins in to something very charming and sinister all at the same time. For example, the moment when Michael Caine becomes nasty will make your hairs stand up on end as you realise how he’s played Tindle the whole time. However, Tindle gets his own back by staging an elaborate prank on Wyke which more than makes up for what Wyke did to him. Tindle’s prank of impersonating a police inspector who is suspicious of Wyke’s transgressions is highly effective and dramatic. The film continues in this pattern, each man trying to one up the other until a rather dire conclusion.

The first two acts of the film are the strongest. In the first act, Wyke gets one up on Tindle. In the second act, Tindle gets one back on Wyke. Watching how both men achieve this is worth watching all on its own. It’s well written, well acted and well directed with great use of the sole location present in the film. Unfortunately, the steam goes out in the third act; it doesn’t quite match the heights of what has come before. The suggestion of a homo-erotic relationship between the men which culminates in Wyke shooting Tindle feels somewhat out of place and lacks the quick-witted edge that the previous acts in the film had.

Despite the fact that “Sleuth” cannot get past its one location origins in the theatre, director Kenneth Branagh has done a fantastic job of creating some remarkably creative and eerie visuals. The combination of production design, photography and lighting gives the Wyke Manor a disturbing feeling which more than complements the ruthless behaviour of both characters. The opening shots in particular are quite inventive; one shot of a set of drinking glasses which perfectly blocks the front door to the manor as Jude Law walks in is very impressive and unique.

“Sleuth” is a good way to spend an hour and a half, but I felt the dramatic effect would have been more pronounced watching this as a stage play rather than a film.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is excellent. Although the film isn't visually grand, the rich colours and texture of the images of the gothic interior of Wyke's mansion, and even the few glimpses we get of the English countryside are vibrant and clear without any noticeable artefacting or film scratching. The audio is also excellent, but the surround sound system won't be given a good workout as the film is mostly dialogue driven. Overall, this is a great transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: For the type of film that this is, the extras package is quite excellent. First off, we're treated to two audio commentaries. The first, from Kenneth Branagh and Michael Caine is great for behind the scenes information, particularly when the two of them start discussing their approaches to doing the work. The second, from Jude Law, is likewise filled with interesting information, but unlike the former, there are gaps of silence throughout which lessens the quality of the commentary. Moving on from that, there are three behind the scenes featurettes. The first is a series of short featurettes put together containing behind the scenes of footage of the crew at work. The second is a making-of documentary which is very solid, and not your typical promotional fluff that you can get with these things. This featurette contains a brief history of the original play and the 1972 film which was fascinating to hear about. The third extra is focused on the make up work done for Jude Law's Inspector Black character. There are only English and English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles. This is a very solid, quality collection of extras.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it.