It's a Trap!

It seems that Michael Caine has enjoyed twisty psychological movies all throughout his career. A few months ago, I mentioned Sleuth, in both its film incarnations. Now, I've seen another play-adapted-into-a-movie starring Caine, 1982's Deathtrap. In another connection, the film was directed by "play adaptation specialist" Sidney Lumet, with Equus and 12 Angry Men among his dozens upon dozens of credits.

Deathtrap is the story of a once-great writer of murder-suspense plays now on a long string of creative and critical flops. A former student with a draft of his own play contacts him for advice. The new work, a genius play guaranteed to be hit, turns the washed-out playwright's thoughts to murder. In truth, there's a good deal more to the plot, but it would be impossible to say more without detracting from the pleasure of seeing it.

For that is the greatest strength of this movie -- the writing. It's a brilliantly self-aware piece full of sly references to the genre of suspense, the structure of theater, and the task of writing itself. It all would surely play even more ironically on the stage, but it still very effective on film.

Michael Caine is wonderful in the movie, as is Christopher Reeve as the young former student. Both characters could come off thoroughly unbelievable, even cartoonish, and while each flirts with that line once or twice, they both manage to keep their performances grounded and tense.

Less thrilling, to put it mildly, is Dyan Cannon in the role of the playwright's highstrung wife. She's a bit flawed on the page, admittedly, perhaps the one weak spot in the writing. She provides most of the movie's comic relief, but while a laugh or two is good to cut the tension of this kind of tale, the character's hysterics go over the line. What's more, Cannon's outrageous, outlandish, out-everything performance generates more than a few laughs of the unintentional kind. It's the sort of performance that seems pitched to play to the back row of a huge Broadway theater, in the space of the local dinner playhouse.

But crazy though she is, she can't bring down what is mostly a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Each turn in the plot pulled me a little farther in. Little, telegraphed hints of what was still to come had me probing to try and guess exactly where it would all end up.

I rate the movie a B+. Look past a few flaws, and I think you'll be very entertained.