Sleuth

Billed as a remake of Peter Schaffer's 1972 original, a two-hander then between Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine and now between Michael Caine and Jude Law, this really holds little resemblance to the older classic.

Once that has been established you're free to sit back and take in a brand new text from British theatrical institution playwrite Harold Pinter, directed by former acting luvvie and now directing luvvie Kenneth Branagh. The result is something that would sit well in any A-level English or film class, with heaps of classic Pinter pauses and more arty shots than Salvador Dali with a featherlight triggered machine gun.

The tale is simple. It's a power play between an older financially successful man and his wife's younger and less asset rich lover. It twists and it turns, and at one point Pinter turns it up to a very uncomfortable notch as the two men tensely flirt with one another. But ultimately it simply trips and stumbles from humour to menace and to violence, like a great deal of Pinter's works.

Unfortunately, it's less coherent than the majority of his works, a fact which isn't helped by Branagh's minimalist set and wide-angled slightly fish-eyed lens. This is a film of two halves – the first a classic thriller struggle, the second an introspective art film with more hidden messages than The Da Vinci Code. An in all, Sleuth is an interesting piece involving some very talented actors and creators, only rather over-egged by late-night conceptualist ideas.

Extras: Making Of, On Set documentary, commentary.

Released on 28th April 2008 by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Written by Victoria Nangle.