Sleuth (2007) - R

Intense cat-and-mouse thriller is for adults only.

Rating: R for strong language. Studio: Sony Pictures Classics Directed By: Kenneth Branagh Cast: Michael Caine, Jude Law Running Time: 86 minutes Release Date: 10/12/2007 Genre: Thriller

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this sleek, adult-oriented thriller tackles mature themes -- infidelity, violence, murder -- from the get-go. Swear words (including "f--k") and other inflammatory language are hurled like weapons; later, actual weapons (including guns and knives) are brandished. It's clear from the beginning that main characters Milo and Andrew aim to annihilate each other. Even older teens may find the film's brutality uncomfortable: This is no cartoonishly violent video game, but an ugly, down and dirty obliteration.

Families can discuss infidelity. Can it truly drive people to extremes like the ones shown in this movie, or is that an exaggeration on Hollywood's part? Why is the media so fascinated by love gone awry? Why do you think the filmmakers choose not to show Maggie? Should they have? If you've seen the 1970s original, you can compare and contrast the two. How are they similar and different? Which do you like better? Why?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: S. Jhoanna Robledo

It hardly matters that viewers never see Maggie, the seductress who propels two men -- her husband, novelist Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine), and her lover, sometime-actor Milo Tindle (Jude Law) -- to face off in the taut thriller SLEUTH. Though they're ostensibly dueling over her, it's the interplay between the two that takes center stage, resulting in a fairly satisfying tug-of-war.

Based on a play by Anthony Shaffer (which was first turned into a movie in 1972 starring Caine) this remake penned by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and directed by Kenneth Branagh examines what happens when Wyke summons Tindle to his country home for a tête-à-tête.

What unfolds is a twisted, all-consuming, and violent battle for supremacy. It's physical, mental, and emotional, draining and exhilarating at the same time. Winner takes all -- though what "all" means is left up for debate. (The script is, after all, by Pinter, a playwright known as much for his enigmatic work as he is for his way with words.)

Caine and Law are a perfect match -- no surprise, given how ably Law stepped into Caine's shoes in 2005's Alfie. Caine taps a deep reservoir of rage not seen in his films in ages; Law, on the other hand, buries his pretty-boy image -- Milo is rough and desperate and, though handsome to behold, unafraid to be ugly (in one scene, he transforms "wit" into a loaded, almost shameful, word).

But just like Alfie, Sleuth is a little too slick. Andrew's estate is more cold than grand, and Branagh, by lingering too fondly on the high-tech edge of it all, threatens to snuff the rawness out of his movie. (He is, admittedly, excellent at setting tone; menace pervades the film throughout.) The first half-hour delights in the high-tech stuff -- the indoor elevator, the fancy lighting, the security cameras, the computer that controls it all -- so much that it almost seems like an ad for a modern-day "smart house." To heighten the face-off between its two main characters, Sleuth needed just a little more grit.

Fans may also enjoy another intense Law drama, Closer, or, for more love-triangle intrigue, Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (both the 1954 and 1998 versions).

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content No sex shown, but the acrimony between the two main characters stems from Andrew's wife leaving him for Milo. Later, sexual tension surfaces between the two men.
Violence Lots, though nothing gory. The main characters beat each other up quite brutally (and sometimes in close-up) and later brandish knives and guns (shots are fired). In one scene, Milo nearly strangles Andrew with a necklace. In many others, they threaten to kill each other. The ending is stunning in its cruelty.
Language Includes uses of "bulls--t," "prick" and "f--k."
Message
	Social Behavior The never-seen Maggie cuckolds Andrew and persuades Milo to see her husband. Cruelty rules the day, and both Andrew and Milo aim to humiliate the other. They do so by playing mental games, with the battles quickly turning violent.
	Commercialism Heavy emphasis on high-tech gadgets (though labels aren't easily identifiable). The remote control for them looks like an iPod Nano.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Characters drink whiskey and other hard liquor; in one painfully humiliating scene, Milo guzzles alcohol straight from the bottle.