An Evening with Michael & Kenny

Tonight I went to another movie and talk back sponsored by Variety Magazine and the Moving Picture Museum. This time the movie was "Sleuth" and the speakers were one of the stars, Michael Caine and the director, Kenneth Branagh. (Jude Law was originally scheduled to be there too but apparently had a conflict and couldn't make it.)

It was Jude's idea to remake Sleuth. (The original had Michael Caine playing the young lover and Sir Laurence Olivier playing the husband - both fighting for the same woman.) Michael Caine originally had no interest in re-visiting the movie when he was approached by Jude to play the husband this time around. But then Jude told him that he had asked Harold Pinter to write the screenplay and that changed everything.

Pinter had never seen the movie nor read the play. He took the basic plot and made it his own - keeping all but one line from the original script and even adding a "wink" line in the script - "What's it all about?" - a thinly veiled reference to the movie "Alfie" which both Caine (original) & Law (remake) had been in.

Michael Caine talked about how he knew Pinter when he was an actor named, David Baron. Back then he told Caine that he wanted to write and Caine ended up being in Pinter's first One Act play - The Room. Caine added that Pinter must not have liked him in the show because it took all these years before he was asked to perform one of his pieces again. The moderator chimed in that he might have been busy making movies or the like when other opportunities arose for Pinter plays. Caine nodded and agreed that that might have been true. ;)

In describing Pinter, Caine said he lives in a totally separate world. In reference to the "story" of sleuth, Caine quoted Pinter - "I don't do plot." He added that you have to play it straight with Pinter's writings. That you should never look like you are acting. "Stay straight and Howard will take care of you." He said that Pinter himself (who happens to have a cameo in "Sleuth" as an actor in a mystery movie slapping a man - the slapped man we were later told was Kenneth Branagh) can say the most normal thing like - "Good Evening" and everyone in the room will look at each other and say - "What did he mean by that?!"

Moving on to his own acting, Caine said, "The worst thing he could hear is an audience member turning to someone during a movie he's in and say - "That Michael Caine is a great actor!" Because if a person does that during the movie that shows that he isn't doing justice to the character he's playing if they see him as the actor playing the character as opposed to just being the character. Of course, if you wanted to praise his acting after a movie is over - he was all for that!

He added that he considers the rehearsals the "work" part of acting and the actual performance relaxation.

Caine then reflected on his time filming the original version of "Sleuth". Saying that before filming started he received a letter from Sir Laurence saying something along the lines of..."I'll bet you are wondering how you will address me." Caine said he hadn't really thought about it. Sir Laurence said from the start he could be addressed as Larry. So Larry it was.

Apparently Larry had a rough time of it at the beginning of filming. He had just been let go from the National Theatre and was basically in the middle of a nervous breakdown. He declared that he couldn't act with his own face and came to the set with a mustache one day. Just like that he was on. Caine's quote - "My God he's got it! I'm in trouble."

Filming for the original "Sleuth" took 16 weeks. The new version took 23 days.

Caine said that he and Jude "Got along like a house on fire." (I think that's a good thing!)

Kenneth Branagh (or Kenny as Caine called him) did manage to get some words in although you could tell he was more than happy to let Caine go on...

Kenny said that directing the movie was like sitting in on his own person Master Class as he watched Law & Caine go at it.

One element that Pinter hinted at in the script and Kenny expanded upon was the idea of the house in "Sleuth" being a character, too.

The design of the house and the subsequent shooting style is very visually fascinating at times.

The movie itself? It is a mind f*@%, plain and simple. There are times that Jude seemed a bit much for me but that's merely an opinion. A movie worthy of seeing but you can wait til it comes out on dvd.