Deathtrap

I saw this mentioned in a YouTube video, and I was sold on it on a couple of elements; a black comedy about a struggling playwright committing real murder to inspire his next murder thriller play, and the two leads, Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve. That last one, especially, had my eyebrow raised in curiosity. I'd only seen Reeve in four movies to the best of my recollection, and they were all Superman. I was curious to see what he'd be like outside of it. Fortunately, what I was sold was the truth; this is a fun, sick, twisted comedy thriller. I'd even dare say that, had Hitchcock still been alive and directing, I could see him doing this. Hitchcock didn't dabble too directly in humor -- it was always a carefully placed seasoning in his movies -- but this could've been his attempt at something a little more overt. So, Deathtrap sees Caine as a playwright who was once notable, but in recent times has suffered a string of failures (not dissimilar from Hitchock's late career swoon). He comes upon a script from a student at a writing class he taught, and the script is magnificent, and becomes jealous. He begins to scheme about bringing this young man (Reeve) to his house, murdering him, and taking the script for himself. Where this goes after that, I don't want to reveal. This movie seems to have been forgotten, and I think if you, reader, are going to discover it by way of my review, you should go in with as little knowledge as possible. Just know that the set-up I described is only a small portion of it. Interestingly, the movie is also staged like a play. Of the two hour run time, maybe five minutes are not spent in the house Caine shares with his wife, played by Dyan Cannon. In that regard, it's very reminiscent of a Hitchcock movie, Dial M For Murder. That too was set almost entirely in one location (an apartment), save for a few exterior shots. This staging has its advantages and disadvantages, though. On the plus side, the single location gives Deathtrap a claustrophobic energy; the house (which has the WEIRDEST layout, as part of it is a windmill) becomes a character in and of itself. It also allows the principal actors to take center stage and develop their roles, which is helped a lot by the direction. Sidney Lumet uses the house's round architecture to his advantage in staging shots. You may not get a feast for the eyes here, but you get to see how a good director explore every inch of the space he has. Conversely, and this is the movie's biggest hiccup, that single-setting and play-like staging means this movie is all about dialogue. ALL. ABOUT. IT. This is a 24/7/365 non-stop barrage of words. For two hours, it can get tiring. Furthermore, a movie built entirely on dialogue means there's plenty of elements that get revealed through expository dialogue. Now, I'm not like a lot of people who cringe at even the slightest whiff of exposition; it is a tool in the toolbox of the storyteller. In real life, people talk in exposition, because sometimes, we do have to communicate things to one another via speech instead of some visual cue. But there is a tipping point where it becomes too much, and Deathtrap does step over that line. It's a consequence of designing the movie to come off like a play. I get it, I'm not mad at it, but I'd be blind not to acknowledge it. Also a bit flawed is the movie's pacing. The first half has a lot of energy. The second half slows down for an elaborate, cerebral game of cat and mouse. It builds to an exciting climax, sure, but the road to get there in the second half is anything but electric. It's fun to watch the actors play off one another, sure, it's just not very electric. While the flaws in this can't be ignored, I think they're just something that comes with the package. I'm not sure there was a way around them, so that leaves Deathtrap, really, as the best version of itself. It's a wicked, sick, unrepentantly dark comedy with some excellent performances and an evilly fun atmosphere.