See How They Run review

SEE HOW THEY RUN: 

SAM ROCKWELL AND SAOIRSE RONAN SHINE IN THIS FUN CAPER!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, and the possible suspects in See How They Run

 

            In the tradition of Clue: The Movie and Knives Out, Tom George makes his directorial debut with an old-fashioned whodunit in See How They Run. I’m always down for a good murder-mystery, but one involving live theater, cinema, and Sam Rockwell (Moon, Iron Man 2, The Way, Way Back) and Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, Lady Bird, Little Women (2019)) as the leads? Sign me up! 

            That’s twice in a row now I’m seeing and reviewing a movie revolving around cinema, showbusiness, and murder as I just reviewed Pearl a couple days ago. Maybe it was meant to be. 

            I was intrigued when I first saw the trailer, though I’m not familiar with Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at all. Now that I’ve seen it, I can say that See How They Run is a lot of fun. 

            One of the all-time greatest murder-mysteries? Probably not, but I was very entertained and engrossed in the story and characters. It’s kind of an easy recommendation, did you enjoy Knives Out? If so, you’ll probably like this one too. 

            The film is set in 1950s London and revolves around the efforts of adapting Agatha Christie’s hit play, The Mousetrap into a feature film. However, these plans are soon halted when a pivotal member of the crew is murdered with the world-weary, Inspector Stoppard (Rockwell) and his inexperienced but eager rookie, Constable Stalker (Ronan) taking on the case. 

            These two detectives soon find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the corrupt theater underground as they race to find the culprit. 

            The film also stars Adrien Brody (The Pianist, Predators, Midnight in Paris) as Leo Köpernick, Ruth Wilson (Anna Karenina, Saving Mr. Banks, Locke) as Petula Spencer, Reece Shearsmith (Shaun of the Dead, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Venom: Let There Be Carnage) as a fictionalized version of John Woolf, Harris Dickinson (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The King’s Man, Where the Crawdads Sing) as a fictionalized version of Richard Attenborough, David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Selma, Nightingale) as Mervyn Cocker-Norris, Charlie Cooper (This Country) as Dennis the Usher, Shirley Henderson (Trainspotting, Harry Potter franchise, Okja) as a fictionalized version of Agatha Christie, Pippa Bennett-Warner (Patient Zero, The Foreigner, Johnny English Strikes Again) as Ann Saville, Pearl Chanda (Mr. Turner, War of the Worlds (2021)) as a fictionalized version of Sheila Sim, Paul Chahidi (The Death of Stalin, This Country, Christopher Robin) as Fellowes, Sian Clifford (Fleabag, The Duke, Star Wars: The Bad Batch) as a fictionalized version of Edana Romney, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Power) as Gio, Lucian Msamati (The International, Game of Thrones, The Good Liar) as a fictionalized version of Max Mallowan, and Tim Key (Alpha Papa, The Double, Greed) as Commissioner Harrold Scott. 

            Overall, See How They Run is the kind of whodunit that’s definitely worth “Running” out to your local theater to see. It doesn’t really do anything new or groundbreaking, but those familiar with the murder-mystery formula will likely have a good time with it. 

            The dialogue is very witty, the characters are engaging, the costume and set designs are wonderful and really transport the audience to 1950s London, and the mystery is consistently interesting and what I appreciate is that the film doesn’t take itself too seriously nor is it too jokey to the point where it becomes self-parody. It finds a good middle-ground with the end result being both fun and fascinating. 

            Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are excellent and one of the major highlights of the film, I love the dynamic they have where one is a skilled albeit bumbling at times detective and the other is a ditzy but free-spirited rookie. Rockwell and Ronan both have great comedic timing, and you enjoy watching them work together and solve the case, it’s easily one of the best team-ups I’ve seen all year. 

            Despite not appearing in the film that much, Adrien Brody makes an impression with the little screen-time he has as this sleazy film director who also gives a Goodfellas-esque narration throughout the film. In fact, even though the side characters aren’t nearly as developed as Rockwell or Ronan, everyone is memorable and given their times to shine. 

            See How They Run has a gripping mystery keeps you guessing, wit, and an excellent cast, just about everything that makes an entertaining whodunit. Granted, Clue: The Movie and Knives Out are arguably stronger narrative wise, this is still a fun time at the movies.