Sleuth

Although a previous TO reviewer's claim that this is closer to Borges than Agatha Christie is perhaps overstating the case, it must be said that Mankiewicz films Anthony Shaffer's two-hander play - about a thriller writer's attempts to play lethal games with his wife's lover - with admirable style and intelligence. Less a whodunit than a howdunit, Shaffer's plot is labyrinthine enough to grip from start to finish, and the performances are superb; and while he never tries to open the action out, Mankiewicz explores his set with an amazing attention to detail and atmosphere, emphasising the twists and turns of the perverse power play at work. Thoroughly entertaining.