Sleuth

What can you do with just two actors?

Apparently, a lot, especially if both actors are as talented as Michael Caine and Jude Law.

Now, a feature-length movie with only two actors will immediately come off as an art film, like it or not. People are just not used to having two characters in a narrative.

The storytelling is clear, without the need for a third character to add dimension to the story. Apparently, the script has been well-planned to the last detail, so that no additional character was necessary.

What is amusing is the exchange between Michael Caine and Jude Law, showing us the depth of their acting skills. Most of the time, you can sense how effortless this is for both actors, who are engaged in an acting joust for basically the whole duration of the film, neither one breaking a sweat. Talk about talent.

Anyway, movies like this are not really known for making big draws at the box office, but they go down in the filmmakers's list of favorite art films. Who can define what an art film is anyway? It's just a term coined to refer to films that are too high-brow for the average intellect. But Sleuth isn't trying to be intellectual at all. The only problem is that the simplicity of it all, using only two actors and one location, will sometimes make the audience think that there's something more that they're probably not getting.

Michael Caine plus Jude Law equals one heck of an acting challenge. And these two were able to pull it off beautifully.


Rating: Four stars.