A decade before Deathtrap, Caine made his mark in the diabolically clever film Sleuth. Deathtrap has very similar style twists, turns, and revelations, but loses its grip in the second half. The casting is a little off with Irene Worth turning in a barely intelligible performance (it was supposed to be funny) as a Scandinavian psychic and Dyan Cannon giving an absolutely grating performance as Bruhl's (Caine's) wife. Thankfully, the two main actors, Caine and Reeve, give it their all and were a great pleasure to watch. Without giving much of the plot away, Bruhl, a stagnating playwright, comes across a brilliant play written by a student. Because he is desperate for a hit, he considers murdering the student and taking it for himself. From there, it goes crazy. With these maze-like films it's fun to see just how everything plays out. Typical of Sidney Lumet films, the production is slick and the material is smart. Johnny Mandel's baroque score imitates Sleuth's soundtrack, but it's far more heavy-handed. Despite its shortcomings, Deathtrap is a clever, flawed film that serves as a good companion piece to Sleuth.
7/10--I was tempted to give it a 7.5, but I told myself I'd never give halves. I'd say the body of the film is an 8, but I was disappointed with resolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment