Sleuth (1972 Film) - Plot

Plot

Milo Tindle (Michael Caine), a prosperous, rather flashy self-made London hairdresser, the son of immigrants, arrives at a large stately home in the Wiltshire countryside, belonging to Andrew Wyke (Laurence Olivier), a pompous, highly eccentric crime fiction author. A member of the upper class and with a great concern for tradition, Wyke is popular worldwide for his aristocratic detective, St. John Lord Meridew.

Andrew quickly tells Milo that he knows that Milo is having an affair with his wife, Margeurite. Milo, in return, tells Andrew that he knows Andrew is having an affair with a Swedish prostitute called Thea, and that Andrew’s wife will raise a divorce action based on this.

Andrew proposes that Milo steals his jewels. This way, Milo will be able to sell the jewels for £170,000 cash, enabling him to maintain Margeurite’s very expensive tastes, while Andrew will be able to claim the insurance money. To make the burglary seem convincing, Andrew suggests that Milo actually burgle his house. This Milo proceeds to do, instructed by Andrew at every step of the way. Frequently, Andrew’s fondness for playing games exasperates Milo, who wants Andrew to be more serious about the plot. Andrew is riled by Milo’s attitudes and makes disparaging remarks about his being of Italian descent. However, it appears that they also like each other in some way and that Milo is enjoying playing Andrew’s “game”.

When the time comes for Milo and Andrew to stage a fight, Andrew pulls his gun and creates some bullet holes. Then, Milo is supposed to tie Andrew up, to be discovered by the cleaner the next day, but instead, Andrew turns the gun on Milo. He says that he will not accept another man stealing his wife, and has merely set up the burglary so that he can kill Milo and plead self-defence, as it will look like Milo broke into his house. Milo attempts to flee, but Andrew has kept his car keys. Milo breaks down into tears and begs for his life. He takes Milo to the staircase, expresses his contempt for working-class, non-English people like Milo, and shoots him in the head.

A few days later, Andrew is relaxing in his lounge, reading The Times and listening to Cole Porter songs (he admires all things 1930s), when the doorbell rings and Inspector Doppler of the Wiltshire Constabulary arrives. Doppler claims to be investigating the disappearance of Milo Tindle. Andrew explains that what the viewer assumes to have been the murder of Milo was just a game. Andrew tested Milo, then humiliated him by putting him in fear of his life: this, Andrew feels, showed Milo’s true character and meant that Andrew “won the game”. However, he only shot Milo with a blank bullet. Milo passed out with shock, and fled upon awakening. Doppler refuses to believe this and points out numerous bits of evidence that prove Andrew’s guilt: bullet holes in the wall, a passerby hearing shots fired, Milo’s blood on the staircase, and others. Andrew grows nervous as the various bits of evidence stack up against him. Doppler shows Andrew a mound of earth and says that if Milo is not buried under it, it can be used to prove that Andrew killed Milo, panicked, started to dig a grave in the garden, then disposed of it elsewhere- effectively closing the case. Andrew goes into hysterics, demanding the right to see a lawyer and struggling with Doppler. At the point of Andrew’s greatest humiliation, Doppler removes his face; he is in fact Milo, in an intricate disguise. Andrew did indeed not kill Milo, who has now avenged his humiliation by playing a game of his own and humiliating Andrew.

Andrew congratulates Milo on his ingenuity and the two become fairly affable again. Andrew explains to Milo his philosophy of games-playing and how Milo must surely concede that life has been much more exhilarating when playing games with him. Milo expresses contempt for Andrew’s attitude and says that in his family, there was no time to play games for fun, and that he, Milo, only plays to win. Accordingly, although he has now equalised with Andrew, he seeks to actually beat him now.

Milo tells Andrew that he has decided to take the game one step further by actually killing somebody. For the first time, Andrew’s air of insincerity and silliness falters and he calmly suggests that Milo leave. Milo refuses, and explains that he has killed Andrew’s mistress, Thea. Andrew calls Thea’s flat and is shocked to hear that she is missing. Milo then tells Andrew that after Andrew “killed” him the other day, he went and told the police about it, and said that Andrew had expressed an interest in committing the perfect murder. The police promised to arrive at 10pm that evening- it is now 9.45. Milo has planted several items around the house which incriminate Andrew as Thea's murderer. A frantic Andrew deciphers Milo’s clues, and among other things has to crawl through the coal box to extract one item. He destroys the final clue just as Milo goes to open the door for the police.

At this point, Milo reveals that he did not in fact kill Thea, but has just played another game with Andrew, and has now beaten him twice, making him the winner. He brags that Thea was only too happy to pretend to have been abducted, and that she said he could not maintain an erection- embarrassing Andrew, who joked about his sexual prowess earlier in the film. Milo also mocks Andrew’s detective character, St. John Lord Meridew. Leaving Andrew utterly humiliated, he goes upstairs to retrieve Margeurite’s coat.

While Milo is upstairs, a furious Andrew retrieves his pistol and decides to kill Milo; he will tell the police that he saw Milo walk down the stairs with Margeurite’s coat and shot him in self-defence. When Milo arrives back downstairs, Andrew informs him of his intention, but Milo says that would be foolish on Andrew’s part, as Milo really did go and see the police about the other day’s events, and they really are due at Andrew’s house soon. He turns to leave, smiling, and Andrew shoots him in the back. As he lies dying, Andrew tells him he was not going to fall for the same trick three times. Just then, a car is heard coming up the driveway, and blue lights are seen flashing. A horrified Andrew realises that Milo was telling the truth; the police really do know about the staged burglary, and he will now be convicted of murder. All the toys in Andrew’s living room go off, seemingly laughing at him, as he stands, ashen-faced, at the foot of the stairs. Milo’s last words are, “Andrew, tell them it was all just a bloody game”.