Theatrical ‘Run’
If you’re jonesing hard for the ‘Knives OUt’ sequel, ‘See How They Run’ will take the edge off.
See How They Run
Director: Tom George • Writer: Mark Chappell
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Harris Dickinson, David Oyelowo, Reece Shearsmith, Charlie Cooper, Pearl Chanda, Pippa Bennett-Warner
UK/USA • 1hr 38mins
Opens Hong Kong September 29 • IIA
Grade: B
A few years back no one would have expected a neo-whodunit by Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi pariah Rian Johnson would usher in a new era of affection for old school murder mysteries. There’s a distinct style to the Agatha Christie-esque whodunit, and make no mistake: It is not for everyone. The signature British-ness of it all can drive some of us up the wall (ahem), and the contrivances demanded of the narratives can be a bit much to handle. That said, it’s just taste. Those same contrivances make others scratch their heads at nerds getting their shorts in a twist over whether or not that static warp field the ship just passed through is the reason for the current temporal anomaly, so to each their preferred fantasy.
However, with 2019’s Knives Out Johnson did something no one has dared to try, and that’s modernise the Christie mystery. Yes, Kenneth Branagh’s remake of Murder on the Orient Express came two years earlier, but he cleaved closer to tradition. Johnson brought the action forward to contemporary times and rooted the mystery in current tech and social trends and juiced the genre. Oh, and made US$300 million. It’s no surprise Netflix backed up the Brinks truck for a pair of sequels, and that more spins on the detective mystery are on the way, starting with TV director Tom George’s See How They Run, an unassuming, charming quasi-romp (no one moves very fast) that is more than happy to stay in its lane.
If this doesn’t scream whodunit nothing does
See How They Run starts exactly as it should. It’s 1953. Widely detested Hollywood director, Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody) narrates the foundations of the mystery. He’s at a party celebrating the 100th performance of Christie’s The Mousetrap in London’s West End (which was still on when COVID hit), starring a young Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson, Where the Crawdads Sing), and making a nuisance of himself. Effete, elitist writer Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo) is penning a film adaptation of the play and can’t get down with Köpernick’s vision. All the main players are at this party, including the film’s producer, John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith), the theatrical producer Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson), and Attenborough’s co-star, Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda) among others. But, lo, it’s a Christie-style mystery so before you know it, Köpernick winds up dead. Enter Scotland Yard’s intrepid, vaguely drunken Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and his soon-to-be partner Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan), who’s trying to bust through law enforcement’s glass ceiling. Everyone has a motive. Everyone had an opportunity. Let the games begin.
’Staches are still in
These guys are actually funny
There’s not much in See How They Run that hasn’t been done before in Clue and the underrated Deathtrap and to a degree Miike Takashi’s Over Your Dead Body and all the other films like it that cobble together a zany ensemble of potential murderers portrayed by an all star cast, brought together for a singular event: a ride to Istanbul on a train, a play rehearsal, the reading of a will and so on. The catch to these is how well the assembled all star cast pulls off their parts. George and writer Mark Chappell are fortunate to have Rockwell and Ronan leading the charge as the sozzled dick and his unwanted, however ultra-keen partner. There’s nothing to guffaw over in See How They Run, but there are consistent chuckles, largely thanks to the nimble cast delivering their lines with the kind of straight-faced skill that makes a repeated exchange of “Inspector,” “Constable,” “Commissioner” (popular comedian Tim Key) hilarious. Charlie Cooper knows just when to turn on the shiftiness for the Shifty Usher, Shearsmith juices his dodgy producer with the right amount of dodge, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the fiery Italian lover Gio is, well, fiery, and Shirley Henderson’s homicidal Agatha Christie is the icing on the cake. Rockwell has been low-key funny in the past (Seven Psychopaths, Jojo Rabbit) but it’s refreshing to see Very Serious Actors Ronan, Oyelowo and to some extent Brody (no, Wes Anderson movies don’t count) cut loose and be silly. This is not meaningful. This is not deep. This is just a polished, pleasant by-the-numbers diversion. No mystery. — DEK