There’s no taking away from the commitment in director Tom George‘s wonderfully produced throwback See How They Run, a superbly cast whodunnit with plenty of wit and charm that depending on your appetite for such things will win you over over leave you wanting more.
It’s set in the 1950s, where a London West End production of Agatha Christie‘s “The Mousetrap” is celebrating their one hundredth performance. At the party is Leo Kopernick (Adrian Brody), a brash American director hired to turn the play into a film. He’s not made a lot of friends, including writer Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo), who doesn’t much take to Leo’s creative differences. Worse, he gets in a fight with Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson), ruining Leo’s good suit with green cake icing. Backstage, looking for new digs, Leo stumbles upon some trouble and gets himself murdered. But who did it? In come the police, Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan), who take to uncovering the truth, whatever that may be.
Kudos to the production design, See How They Run balancing the line between keeping a stage-like aesthetic and feeling set in the romanticized version of the era it takes place. The details are marvelous and George takes advantage of the team’s elaborately fitted streets, restaurants, lobbies, theaters, and more. There’s not a shot in the film that isn’t rich with assorted colors and lighting, purposeful shadows and a slew of sensational costumes. It’s the movie’s second best feature.
The first is the cast. While Brody appears to be the lead, he exits early though his presence remains wafting about the plot. Instead, it is Rockwell and Ronan who end up center stage, the two an amusing duo of soured seasoned detective and sprightly family girl hooked on cinema. They’re perfectly cast, Rockwell playing Stoppard as a drunkard, soured by time, having just enough patience to deal with the intrepid Stalker, who keeps her eyes peeled, a thing she’s told and does often.
Ronan steals the show, which is saying a lot with a cast this strong. Stalker is more than she seems, her arrival played out for laughs before quickly shifting as she thinks she’s got it figured out. I love what Ronan does with this, scene after scene taking Stalker to all the right places, earning our laughs, our sympathies, and our respect. That’s not to say she’s alone in doing so. Rockwell, as expected, is very good, as is Oyelowo, though the large ensemble tends to compete with each other in the supporting roles, not really any of them getting the chance to develop much beyond their introductions.
Where it weakens is with its identity, George very much in control of the direction but unable to make the film feel unique. Employing split screens and flashbacks, See How They Run feels familiar, recalling early Wes Anderson titles especially, perhaps in homage, but somehow lacking the same playful charisma. It lacks the chaos and frazzled energy it seems primed to deliver, a la Clue or Noises Off, especially in its well-constructed finale that sort of deflates instead of blow up.
Still, this is a fun movie. Absorbing set design, terrific performances, a catchy score, and a winning turn from Saoirse Ronan keep this on the recommendation list.