Sleuth

"Obey the rules."

2007 1h 29m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🥫

37%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 605🥫37%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★6.3IMDB · 33,593

DramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Locked in a high-tech English manor, bound in a deadly duel of wits, Andrew Wyke and Milo Tindle come together as English gentlemen to discuss the matter of Wyke's wife: the woman both are sleeping with.

“Obey the rules.”

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Cast

Michael Caine
Andrew Wyke
Jude Law
Milo Tindle
Harold Pinter
Man on T.V.
Carmel O'Sullivan
Maggie
Kenneth Branagh
Other Man on T.V.

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Harold Pinter
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Neil Farrell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Michael Caine and Jude Law and Harold Pinter carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Obey the rules.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kenneth Branagh directs. Haris Zambarloukos behind the camera. Patrick Doyle scores. Neil Farrell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 19 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Kenneth Branagh, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Patrick Doyle. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Neil Farrell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Michael Caine and Jude Law and Harold Pinter carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Obey the rules.".
9IMDB entry: tt0857265 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "age difference", "female lover", "insurance fraud", "based on play or musical".

The technical file

Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos
Original score: Patrick Doyle
Editing: Neil Farrell
Production design: Tim Harvey
Costume design: Alexandra Byrne
Makeup / hair: Eileen Kastner-Delago
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $342,835
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Sleuth (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes: 37% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 33,593 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 6 nominations total

Also by

Kenneth Branagh

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-12-21
★ 6/10
If you saw the 1972 version with Olivier and Caine then that will likely have robbed this iteration of a fair chunk of it’s jeopardy, especially in the latter stages as Sir Michael's "Andrew" invites playboy “Milo” (Jude Law) to his ultra-modern country pile where his host suggests a plan by which he can continue to cheat with his wife. Indeed, not just that but secure the funds to keep them both in the style to which she has already become accustomed. Thing is though, has the cocky young man the intellect to match the wily and shrewd “Andrew”? Is there a deal on the cards to keep both men happy? Caine makes for quite an engaging protagonist for the first half hour, but unfortunately the scheme itself struggles to remain plausible and as the second phase of their tennis match kicked in I felt the pace and the thrust of the concept just too weak to hold my attention. It’s as if all of the creative effort went into the A-side of the film and the B-side is just there to tee up a conclusion that is mischievous at times, even ever so slightly homo-erotic (“Milo” is an hairdresser), but that just fizzles out after an surfeit of noisy dialogue that largely dissolves the originally quite entertaining dynamic between the two men. The camera clearly loves Jude Law and this does have it’s moments, but these are too few to make this remake a patch on the original, and it’s not a film I’m going to remember for long.

Production companies