A new generation of ‘Sleuth’

“Sleuth” is one of the most pedigreed films of the year, as its poster trumpets in huge letters: “Caine. Law. Branagh. Pinter.”

But it’s the word in the middle of all those big British names that proves the movie’s undoing: “Sleuth” itself.

Kenneth Branagh, best known for his Shakespeare films, directs this new version of the cat-and-mouse game that was Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s last film. Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter wrote the new screenplay, which he says he based on the original stage play, not the 1972 screenplay. (Anthony Shaffer wrote both.)

Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier starred in the original. This time, Michael Caine takes on the Olivier role, while Jude Law plays a Caine role for the second time, after the 2004 “Alfie” remake.

With nearly an hour cut from the running time and a very modern ending, this new “Sleuth” is more of a reinterpretation than a remake.

And a pretty good one it is — at first.

Mr. Branagh has always been a creative filmmaker, but the beginning of “Sleuth” is unlike anything he’s done before. We watch young and handsome actor Milo Tindle (Mr. Law) park his car and enter the mansion of older mystery novelist Andrew Wyke (Mr. Caine). At least we sort of watch this: It’s done using odd camera shots, with much of the action shown through Andrew’s omnipresent surveillance system.

Even after Milo and Andrew sit down, we still don’t see their faces. They’re reflected in the plate glass and stark, stainless steel chairs that production designer Tim Harvey and set decorator Celia Bobak use to make a rich man’s playhouse feel more like a jail than a home. Patrick Doyle’s score is modern, but it uses Beethoven’s harmonic language to moody effect.

We only see the faces of the two blonds when they quit the chitchat and get down to business: “So, you’re [sleeping with] my wife,” Andrew bluntly declares.

In the original, this line was a much more genteel “I understand you want to marry my wife,” but Mr. Branagh and Mr. Pinter have crafted a chillier tale that takes all of the British-country-house mystery out of the original. In the process, they’ve made it feel even more like a play, despite the fancy technological props.

That’s not the problem with “Sleuth,” however. In fact, the cold cruelty of the tale, mixed with the utter stylishness of its telling, make the first third of the film completely compelling. Then, as soon as the first twist arrives, “Sleuth” falls apart. This isn’t an Agatha Christie-inspired tale anymore, and one wishes Mr. Pinter had stuck less to the source. This “Sleuth” starts out as something far more interesting.

Mr. Caine seems better suited to the role of the rich, accomplished man than the Italian on the take, but in this version, the immensely talented actor seems to be phoning in his performance. Mr. Law, on the other hand, is almost mesmerizing, cycling through bravado, fear and triumph, as the script requires, with ease.

Yet neither man can save the film from its ending. Mr. Pinter sees the cat-and-mouse game as distinctly homoerotic, but few others will, which makes his ending all the more inexplicable.

Remaking a film that relies so much on surprise is difficult — but that’s no excuse for surprises that don’t fit.

**1/2

TITLE: “Sleuth”

RATING: R (Strong language)

CREDITS: Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Screenplay by Harold Pinter based on the play by Anthony Shaffer

RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes

WEB SITE: www.sonyclassics.com/sleuth

MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS