“See How They Run” Review
Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saorise Ronan) work to solve the murder of a film director in “See How They Run.”
As I have already stated many times before, the murder mystery has made a grand return to cinemas with great stories (many of them original) making a splash. This year alone saw “Bodies Bodies Bodies” make a huge impact on audiences and the upcoming “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” is eagerly anticipated. Now, “See How They Run” has arrived in theaters and it’s definitely an example of how when you have a genre make a comeback, eventually you’re going to encounter a film that is underwhelming at worst and okay at best.
Set in London’s West End in 1953, the Agatha Christie play “The Mousetrap” is a massive success with talk of a film adaptation in the works by abrasive director Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody) who manages to anger everyone in the play’s cast and crew. When Köpernick is found murdered, disgruntled Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and inexperienced Constable Stalker (Saorise Ronan) are assigned to crack the case. As the pair descend into the possible motives for this murder, the twists and turns reveal a dark underside to this crime.
What works about the film largely depends on Rockwell and Ronan’s incredible performances. Their chemistry is what makes this film enjoyable as they team up despite Constable Stalker never having worked a murder case and Inspector Stoppard seeming to be disinterested in his work. But her enthusiasm and his experience do make for a great combination, especially with their very dry British humor.
The mystery itself is quite interesting and it does keep you guessing. Just when you think you’re beginning to understand who’s behind it, the film goes in a different direction. However, the film’s ensemble cast doesn’t command the interest of the audience like in “Knives Out” or “Bodies Bodies Bodies.” Anyone who has seen a murder mystery knows that you often need a powerful cast of potential murderers/victims to help drive the story.
Since the film is rooted in history with “The Mousetrap” being a real play (the longest running play in history), several characters are famous characters associated with the play including actors Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickenson) and Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda), film producer John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith) and Agatha Christie (Shirley Henderson). However, the film doesn’t take advantage of the history by having the characters really become involved.
Because there’s not a strong supporting cast, I’m not interested in figuring out who did it. I’m more interested in seeing the detectives figure it out which shouldn’t be the case for a whodunnit. It should suck you in and make you want to try and figure out what’s going on. Every scene with Inspector Stoppard and Constable Stalker and one of the suspects feels one-sided instead of both sides being compelling.
The ending feels a bit underwhelming with one of the most unlikely people being the killer with a forced backstory. However, one of the protagonists does mention that many whodunits have the same problem so it’s not like they didn’t tell us.
With that said, the film still manages to elicit entertainment, especially if you enjoy the murder mystery genre. I love this genre so this felt like a lesser but fun film to watch. While not a game-changer, the film still offered substance and reminded me that originality can thrive in Hollywood. Not every original story can be phenomenal, but the attempt was respectable.
