“Murder mysteries. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” This is the introductory line, spoken by Adrien Brody’s character Leo Kopernick, to Tom George’s “See How They Run.” The tone is set not even five seconds into the movie, nor a glance at its visual presentation. It wants to be a self-aware construct of what we have seen before, and it is, at least for its first half.
If You’ve Seen One Whodunnit You’ve Seen them All…
However, the film isn’t as clever as it thinks. The self-referentiality, zaniness, glossy opulence, and quickly witted demeanor can withhold narrative decadence up to a certain point; it is a remedy that heals for a few minutes, but it’s not salvation. Yet, in the end, it all falls apart. How so? Well, first, we must go back further in time—the point of its creation. “See How They Run” is a product concocted by three leading players: Wes Anderson (the pastel and polished look), Rian Johnson (the witty yet self-aware text), and Agatha Christie (the murder mystery widespread brew).
These three people have inspired Tom George to do his own rendition of a murder mystery, a consistently entertaining subgenre in the riddle realm of fiction, whether it be TV, film, or literature. There’s nothing quite more fascinating than a sharply-executed and written whodunnit. Most of them feel tiresome and repetitive, hence the opening lines in George’s latest feature. These lines might assure that “See How They Run” isn’t going to be one of those films that feel repetitive or tiresome, but unfortunately, it does so.
Yet, this is not without merit. There’s still plenty to enjoy, although the film will stay in your mind for less time than its short 90-minute run-time. It wants to be an homage to the traditional way of telling these types of stories and an ode to Christie’s work. Yet, the inspirations used are to a significant fault as it contains the veneer of cleverness, but not the feeling that confines work like “Knives Out” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” in their core—the same thing that makes them brilliant in their own unique sense of self.
Everyone’s a Potential Suspect in ‘See How They Run’
The best way to describe “See How They Run” is a sporadic affair with quick, brilliant moments in its beginning and a frustrating ending. It is a picture that knowingly winks at the camera for its entire run-time without actually being that ingenious or competent to begin with.
Set in London in 1953, in the aftermath of the “The Mousetrap’s” 100th performance at the West End (which, in reality, is still playing there after 70 years), Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (the delightful Saoirse Ronan) are in charge of solving the murder of blacklisted American filmmaker, Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody). He is the director in charge of making the film adaptation of the famed stage play, also described in the film as the most annoying character in a whodunnit that gets killed off. Kopernik was found murdered on “The Mousetrap’s” stage. The whole cast and crew, as well as his associates, are shocked, but they aren’t too sad about his loss, as he had problems with every single one of the cast members and producers.
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Because of that, everyone’s a potential suspect, from the producer of “The African Queen” to Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson). A killer is on the loose, and the duo of Stoppard and Stalker must find the culprit before there’s another murder. Although it jumps from one trope to the other, essentially calling them out as they happen, the first half of “See How They Run” is genuinely engaging and pretty funny. Its Wes Anderson-esque pastel look and fizzy demeanor cover the film in charming effervescence, which hooked me.
Saoirse Ronan Embodies Comic Precision
Also, the film’s trope-calling and tongue-in-cheek attitude didn’t bother me entirely because the jokes were being sharply executed. This is due to the comedic precision of the cast, primarily Saoirse Ronan, Ruth Wilson, and David Oyelowo. For the most part, this is a showcase for Ronan’s comedic chops; she should be in more comedies. Ronan fills her character with enthusiasm and a cheery attitude that is just palpable—uplifting even the blander jokes in the screenplay. She’s the only person that knows exactly what type of film she’s in.
There’s also Jamie Ramsey’s lush cinematography, Daniel Pemberton’s bouncy score, and some great costumes. However, that’s it, unfortunately, in terms of the film’s positive aspects. The way in which the story develops its mystery is entirely uninteresting. The moments that keep it alive are the bonding scenes between Stoppard and Stalker, even though there isn’t much development in their characters. They don’t solve the murder case; it solves itself.
Doesn’t Reinvent the Genre, but Still Worth Seeing
And, rightly, the villainous reveal is just another wink to the camera, this time falling completely on its face. “See How They Run” ultimately falls right down into the scenario of its opening lines: “Murder mysteries. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” And it is disappointing to say so. Its trailer looked so much fun, and its first half is promising, but the rest is just creaky and unpolished. It is noticeable that Tom George wants to do more than just your regular old whodunnit in its style—splitting frames, pastel color palettes, screwball comedy set-pieces, self-referential quips, and high amounts of zaniness.
George even included a weird (and out of tone) surrealistic dream sequence that references “The Shining“—which took plenty of audience members off guard and questioned if it was even the same film. Yet, it ends up being one of the many that try to reinvent the subgenre but end up dwelling in its derivative tropes. “See How They Run” has little to chew on, and 90% of its jokes in the second half are just too weak. George and screenwriter Mark Chappell want to have their cake and eat it too, but the movie relies too much on meta that it loses its initial cleverness. Nonetheless, it is still worth seeing because of Saoirse Ronan (and Saoirse Ronan alone). After seeing this film, all I want is a “Muppets” movie starring Saoirse Ronan.
Currently, “See How They Run” is only available to watch in theaters.
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