One would imagine it is something of a bittersweet triumph for an actor to endure long enough to revisit a glory moment from his youth, albeit from the vantage point of an older character. Unlike many of his classically schooled contemporaries in England, it was never in the cards for Michael Caine to ascend from playing King Lear's Edgar, say, to Lear himself.

But then how many veterans of the Royal Shakespeare Company can lay claim to having done two film versions of the super-hit stage thriller Sleuth?

Sleuth (Sony Pictures Classics) Starring Michael Caine, Jude Law. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Rated R. Time 86 minutes.