Sleuth, starring Laurence Olivier and Michale Caine, is a sharp, classic, thoroughly enjoyable cat-and-mouse slice of British absurdism from playwright Anthony Shaeffer. Often when I review a film, I give a synopsis of the story, but I believe that doing that here would significantly diminish the potency of watching this one unfold. It would be like handing someone a wrapped present, and then telling them what's inside.
Suffice it to say that Sleuth is a cultural touchstone. The theme of the tale - the pitfalls of pride and the class system - is hardly unique to the English, but the fashion and manner in which this theme is played out is, I think, truly unique to this people. It is certainly absurdist, and no one does absurdism like the British. After a particularly bad college English class, I thought absurdist theatre and literature was a lot of egotistical crap until I saw Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I later realized that using absurdism to tell the tales of men's hearts and struggles is perhaps the most common device of the British raconteurs - think of familiar classics, like Gulliver's Travels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or contemporary TV and film like Monty Python, Blackadder, Brazil. But I wonder if it doesn't go deeper than that. In older works, like those of Austen and Dickens, there is a very common sort of absurdism to be found in the everyday interactions between peers and classes, and Dickens is often hailed as being the best representation of life in his time. Could it be that the reason the British do absurdism better than anyone else is because absurdism is, in root, a key part of how they approach life?
As much as I want to say nothing about Sleuth, I know I should warn that it discusses sexual relations quite frankly, and that will make some uncomfortable. Also, you probably shouldn't watch it if you have a fear of mannequins or automatons. But if sex and fake people (I should be very clear here, the two are not related in the film) don't make you squirm too much, Sleuth is a very rewarding way to spend an evening.
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3 comments:
hmmm, interesting observation regarding absurdism.
I felt Kenneth was heavy handed in the direction which made the film difficult to enjoy, but perhaps that was connected to your comments on the absurd?
Logan
i didn't find it heavy-handed at all. then again, i have a fond appreciation for the british absurd. also, the film played very typically in the 70s style...which absolutely can be over the top!
corey and i were talking about this last night, and he brought up the fact that britain, like japan - that other cultural bastion of absurdism - has a very distinct class system coupled with a very firm sense of how people behave and class/gender roles, which is probably why absurdism flows to normally. so for example, when milo makes the comment about drag i used for the post title, there are absolutely no transsexual overtones - it's pure absurdism, because men just can't and don't do that.
One thing, Logan you seem to be referring to the remake with Jude Law and Michael Caine whereas Elly is speaking of the original film with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier.
Corey
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