See How They Run

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

See How They Run is a whodunnit murder-mystery in which an Inspector/Constable duo must solve the murder of a Hollywood film director who was poised to adapt the successful London West End production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. The first act of this film is an exemplary deconstruction of the whodunnit genre, taking some of the more notable elements and flipping them on their head. The opening narration and character introductions that kick this film off really blew me away, leading right up to the first murder which was an exquisite scene. The film has a strong sense of wit to it; often using a clever visual gag to tie the link between the real and the imagined, or the fictional film/play vs. the plot we're watching. There is a really colourful cast on display here with such differing personalities that I think there'll be something quite fun for everyone. Watching Inspector Stoppard and Constable Stalker suffer one another's worst flaws only to steadily work better and better as a duo made for a solid leading protagonist pair. Their partnership might be nothing new but their dynamic and immense chemistry was something that held my attention from start to finish.

Tom George comes at this film with a distinctive style that definitely had influences of Wes Anderson and Edgar Wright in it I felt. The cinematography really impressed me; the framing was often extremely symmetrical and there were multiple angles that were highly imaginative. The editing for See How They Run was superb, it set a very even pace and had a precise way of cutting a scene to maximum effect. Daniel Pemberton is currently one of the most reliable talents out there right now when it comes to film scores; this helter-skelter melody both grounded the film in the genre and enhanced the comedic tone it was aiming for.

 

Harris Dickinson, who played Richard Attenborough, is a remarkably vain and garish auteur; Dickinson's rather glib remarks about the appearance of those before him and how he approaches his craft is brilliant delivery. Ruth Wilson, who played Petula Spencer, enters the film with a commanding presence; Wilson captures a woman who runs her theatre with a great deal of strength and cunning both. Sian Clifford, who played Edana Romney, might not be in the film much but she carves her path as one of the funniest roles there; Clifford's deadpan yet high-strung delivery often notes the funniest part in any of her scenes. David Oyelowo, who played Mervyn Cocker-Norris, is playing up this pompous extravagant role as much as he can; watching oyelowo portray a snooty braggart is the sort of campy comedy I love from him. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, who played Gio, has a very tumultous and abrasive character; I sincerely loved the very combative relationship between him and Oyelowo. Saoirse Ronan, who played Constable Stalker, steals the show and is only ever really rivalled by Brody for my favourite performance in this film; Ronan portrays a character with abrupt comedic delivery perfectly and manages to still show her incredible intellect all while doing so. Sam Rockwell, who played Inspector Stoppard, is brilliant as the drunken and jaded protagonist; watching Rockwell play this rough-edged detective type against Ronan's lighter role is a lot of fun. Pippa Bennett-Warner, who played Ann Saville, is quite an intensive role who does all the romantic tension work of the on-screen affair between her and Shearsmith; I also liked that she jumped between that and the very taskmaster-like personal assistant archetype at the drop of a hat. Paul Chahidi, who played Fellowes, is a very comic character performer; Chahidi's take on this stiff rude butler being quite abrasive and having to delve into physical comedy was excellent.

However, the best performance came from Adrien Brody, who played Leo Kopernick. This movie had its hooks in me from the very start and so much of it was down to the performance from this man. Brody comes at this role with a very laidback sort of arrogance, he feels like a big shot but he is never as grandiose as some of the other players he is up against. Brody drunkenly stumbles his way through scene dishing deplorable dialogue, generating conflict and giving some of the most scathing voiceover I've heard in a hot minute. He crafts a role you're meant to dislike, but who you also see as charismatic in his own bumbling way. I loved the Brody comes at line delivery in a carefully constructed way; the scene in which he runs through his storyboards is one of the best moments of acting and writing in this. His approach at being this otherwordly version of himself where he tends a bar in the afterlife was another scene I didn't expect but really loved; Brody played a far more aloof version of his role here. Seriously, if Brody's performance doesn't have you hooked in the first five minutes? This probably isn't the film for you.

This film is never quite as good as its very first act. In the second act See How They Run begins to take itself quite seriously, though still making witty gags all along the way. The film really begins to define the characters of our two protagonists, which lends a more dramatic edge the film is not really crying out for. But worse than that there is this messy red herring storyline in which Inspector Stoppard is shopped around as the main antagonist for a bit - though no one in the audience is very convinced by this. The film continues to splutter out as it goes along; the third act has a delightful assembly of setting and elements but the narrative has lost a lot of focus by this point. The revelation of Agatha Christie and the satire of the real life story behind The Mousetrap interacting with this fictional one really starts to get away from what was working in the first act. The jokes begin to sink rather than hit and even the involvement of our protagonists dwindles a little. Overall, See How They Run is an exceptionally creative film that is unable to keep the ball rolling when it comes to its unique concept.

Pearl Chanda, who played Sheila Sim, is often paired with Dickinson and sadly eclipsed by him; Chanda never gets much chance to run with her performance and is often defined by her relationship to other characters. Charlie Cooper, who played Dennis Corrigan, is extraordinarily underwhelming as the major antagonist for the film; Cooper's role has no mean or intimidating streak to him and the big reveal falls apart the moment he starts dealing out dialogue. Reece Shearsmith, who played John Woolf, is quite generic in the meek film executive role; Shearsmith never commands a scene and he often wilts in the face of bigger performances. Tim Key, who played Commissioner Harrold Scott, is often stronger in a more comedic role; despite being lost in hair and make-up transformation Key's straight edge police commissioner is bland. Shirley Henderson, who played Agatha Christie, feels like such a dismal miscast; Henderson presents nothing that even remotely resembles the famous writer or even so much a good parody of her. Lucian Msamati, who played Max Mallowan, is a character very abruptly introduced and made important in the very tail end of the third act; I felt Msamati came in way too late to be given the amount of screen time he was taking up from the main cast.

It is refreshing to see the 'whodunnit' genre steadily making a creative comeback. I would give See How They Run a 7/10.