15 Sep See How They Run Review

SEE HOW THEY RUN

dir. Tom George, starring Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, et. al

See How They Run, a murder comedy set in 1950s London, is a throwback noir-light story of a slimy American director attempting to adapt a popular Agatha Christie-esque stage play into a feature film before being murdered in the opening act. On the case is disheveled police inspector Stoppard and his plucky sidekick Constable Stalker. Together, Stoppard and Stalker find themselves mired in the lives of the theater production while attempting to figure out which of them is the murderer.

There are movies where the directors fully understand what’s needed and tap into the necessary energy to make the story really zip and crackle with electricity (see, Soderbergh’s Ocean’s 11). There are times where the energy needed for the scenes are unfortunately not up to snuff, delivering an underwhelming experience (see, Howard’s Solo: A Star Wars Story). Lastly, at times there’s a movie with a story that’s a bit subpar or not quite fully baked all the way through but infused with so much juice that the entire project is salvaged. See How They Run is an example of this, a murder mystery light on plot and development, but heavy on execution and (dare I say) vibes.

Humor is completely and without fail subjective in its nature; what’s funny for the first person may or may not land the same for the person sitting next to them. Comedy is all in how the person experiencing it filters and interprets it through their own lenses, and the final word on whether or not something makes them laugh rests solely with them. For this critic, the main issue with the film lies partially in its humor. While the movie is a throwback to a bygone era, at times the comedy seems to match the style of the era: random pratfalls and obtuse misunderstanding of information are prevalent throughout the film and the mileage of these jokes will again vary with each viewer. The broader comedic elements, such as Adrien Brody’s performance (Adrien Brody in full-on jerk mode is one of cinema’s unsung comedic gems) and the superfluousness of the third act are all excellently crafted. While the meta nod-and-wink commentary of a murder mystery about a murder mystery, while clever at times, is leaned on a bit too heavily, the actors, each of them very much in on exactly what they want this movie to be, manage to carry the flimsy story to the finish line.

As for the mystery itself? Once it’s boiled to steam, it’s a fairly shallow one with few surprises in store for the audience. With a textbook red herring or two, there’s nothing about See How They Run that adds or elevates the murder mystery genre. It seems as if screenwriter Mark Chappell developed a number of good characters before realizing he had to create a story for them to inhabit. The detective work seen throughout the film is merely an excuse to let each member of the cast have a scene or two to get their time in the spotlight before the plot is moved on to the next thing, moving towards a third act that (thankfully) gleefully deviates from the understood and longstanding traditions of the genre.

Starring Sam Rockwell as Inspector Stoppard, the Academy Award winning actor comes up woefully short in this movie. A man who shouldn’t be allowed within 300 feet of an attempt at an English accent, Rockwell mumbles and almost sleeps through every line reading. While his character is an unkempt, jaded, broken man who clearly has lost much interest in the job, Rockwell himself comes off as somewhat disinterested in the role itself. Whether he’s so tapped into who Inspector Stoppard is (which would make this a genius level performance) or the actor would rather be anywhere else (which would make it one of his bottom tier outings), it’s hard to get a read on him. He floats through scenes, rambles his lines, and eventually arrives at the film’s end.

Thankfully, most scenes with Rockwell are saved by Saoirse Ronan’s bubbly ebullient performance. A beacon of hope in a world of jaded performers and disinterested constables, Ronan’s determination to earn her place on the police force is the film’s heart and soul. Earnest, honest, and adorable, Ronan’s Constable Stalker finds herself in over her head while teamed up with Stoppard, but it’s mostly thanks to her actions that the film’s plot progresses forward. Proven to be just as clever a comedic actress (The Grand Budapest Hotel) as a dramatic one (2019’s Little Women), Ronan is a delight in each scene she’s in.

Directed by Tom George, See How They Run is dripping with panache. A period film, the costuming and set design lend heavily into the audience buying into this post World War II London populated with a number of seedy denizens of the theater community. George’s direction is possibly the movie’s strongest suit; the framing of characters and movement of the camera gives the film its juice and while the script and at times performances don’t hold their end of the bargain, the scene compositions will., using any manner of camera trickery to keep each exposition dump or bit of suspense from ever feeling stale. Clever edits, cuts, whip pans, and split screens will keep moviegoers’ eyes all over the screen.

Overall, See How They Run is an entertaining experience; hopefully this, along with 2019’s Knives out and its successor Glass Onion, will herald in a new age of the comedic murder mystery, one of the most underserved subgenres of film. Dependent heavily on Tom George’s uncanny ability to put energy into his filmmaking, the movie survives on style alone. A fun whodunit (mostly thanks to the hammy performance of the ensemble who appear to be having a blast on set), the film will keep viewers entertained until the very end. See How They Run is currently in theaters.

Review by Darryl Mansel