See How They Run
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager rookie Constable Stalker take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
- Released:
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery
- Stars: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson, Charlie Cooper, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Pearl Chanda, Sian Clifford, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, David Oyelowo, Shirley Henderson, Paul Chahidi, Lucian Msamati, Angus Wright, Tim Key
- Director: Tom George
Comments
- diona_sneezy - 27 December 2023
Whodunit?? I found it really cute
So i was reluctant a bit to see the movie as i saw 6.5 on imdb but it actually deserves more. In a nutshell is a hercule poirot movie but more easy to follow. The actors are great together and Saoirse Ronan is super cute and funny in the movie. If you love the Poirot series or Ms. Marple you're definitely going to enjoy this one. A murder happens and the inspector along with the constable must learn to trust each other and work together. Wilk this happen? Well watch the movie and you'll know it. It also has a speck of comedy and you'll get to see another side of Agatha Christe which will leave you a bit surprised. Give it a chance! - li0904426 - 5 August 2023
Waste of great talented actors
The movie "See How They Run" is set in 1950s London and follows the investigation of a murder on the set of a film version of a smash-hit play: "Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap". The movie is categorized as a comedy-mystery, but it fails to deliver on both genres. The plot tries to make fun of the British mystery genre "whodunit" but ends up falling into the same trap.
The talented cast is wasted, possibly due to a poorly written script and the ineffective direction of Tom George. The only character that stands out is Constable Stalker, portrayed by Saoirse Ronan. The last 30 minutes of the movie were disappointing in terms of the performances, direction, and script, many scenes appear to be heavily choreographed, leaving little room for improvisation. - timothywalton-31924 - 29 April 2023
The plots rubbish, but the film is wildly entertaining
There's an old principle which I think films should be governed by: either you make a film watertight, or you purposely let it sink for fun. See How They Run is the perfect embodiment of this principle. If judged solely as a serious mystery film, it is trite, boring, and an unequivocal failure. It offers nothing new or nothing clever to the genre. It falls into the common whodunnit trap of revealing the murderer to be someone totally unexpected in the end for shock value, banking on the audiences' short memory, gullibility, and readiness to suspend their disbelief. But See How They Run is hardly a serious mystery film. Instead it is playful and self satirising, never failing to entertain through its self deprecating humour, and deadpan irony. For instance in the first 10 minutes, a voiceover(from the dead) from kopernick laments how the obnoxious character gets bumped off in the first 10 minutes of any whodunnit. A while later, Kopernick himself is bumped off. It is clever jokes like these which helps keeping See How They Run from feeling stale. Also amiable is the lead performances. Sam Rockwell is great as the world weary inspector assigned to the case, and so is the excitable and enthusiastic Saoirse Ronan, the constable assisting him. Granted, the pairing of a grumpy old dog and a fresh, exuberant puppy is a common film trope, but Ronan and Rockwell share good chemistry and exude likeable charm. Also notable is the beautiful, cinematography which is saturated in colour and reminiscent of the whimsical charm in Wes Anderson films.
See How They Run is enjoyable enough fare that will not garner any award nominations, but is delightful and diverting enough to be worthy of a watch. It absorbs and entertains its viewers not through its purposefully lacklustre story, but through the endearing dynamic between its main characters, and its lightweight humour and playful charm. - Paragon240 - 2 January 2023
See How They Run meddles through its runtime in mediocrity until the final 20 minutes (which are fantastic!). Not horrible overall, but not worth a repeat.
See How They Run lagged along for about the first hour of the movie but really picked up and entertained in the final act. Saoirse Ronan's performance brought some charm to a fairly bland film. There were hidden jokes and puns throughout that, if caught, would give you a chuckle, but overall this campy whodunit failed to amuse. While the majority of the film was disappointing, the film's climax and resolution delighted with funny drama, meta plot twists, and even a breaking of the fourth wall. I would have loved it if the rest of the movie had been as good as the ending. But it made me endure the slow first hour and fifteen minutes before I was rewarded with its clever wrap-up. I can't recommend it, but I can't say it's terrible. - desrlmt - 18 December 2022
Great for 90 minutes of pure escape from real life
A wry comedy brilliantly executed by a large cast, with Rockwell and Ronan leading the way and spot on in their characterizations. The murderer eventually revealed as the one whodunnit cheats the audience of clues that would have allowed them to do their own detective work, but then again that fulfills the departed director's warning that this will be a film that in every way complies with the structure of the very standard and centuries old plots of more than a thousand dramatized mysteries. Don't get me wrong: This is a reason TO SEE the movie, as it hilariously conforms to its well worn plot devices and progression. - crumpytv - 2 December 2022
Light Hearted Fun
A homage to the writing of Agatha Christie which was almost a parody of itself.
It was easy viewing with some amusing moments. I know it is billed as a comedy, but it was more humorous than comedic.
The look of the theatre and country house scenes were excellent.
I have seen Mousetrap, and the theatre and set looked exactly as I remember it.
Overall, it benefited from a largely unfamiliar cast. Ruth Wilson and Reece Shearsmith being the two I recognised straight away.
Unfortunately the characterization of Richard Attenborough was awful; too tall and too wooden.
There was also an all too short cameo from Shirley Henderson. Eccentric as ever. - rallen-30262 - 24 November 2022
Such a waste
Could've been really good. Sam is one of my favorite actors but they made everyone in the film so dumb and do things that no person who isn't mentally handicapped would do. No one can even attempt to defend themselves it's comical how stupid everyone is. Like screaming at the officer sneaking up when the killer is in the room giving him away to the killer or how they stand still waiting to be killed or shot. It ruined the movie for me. I can't stand when they have to make the characters so stupid to move the story along and can't think of smart realistic ways to tell the story. Also they made the constable so unlikeable it's another very annoying part. She doesn't help one time unless you count the very end but not ever either the investigation. - goshamorrell - 15 November 2022
Searchlight Pictures hits the Big screen again
Your enjoyment of "See How They Run" will depend on your appreciation for its two most prominent elements. The first is the genre of the classic British murder mystery and the names associated with those who created them and those who parodied and meta-commented on them. And the second is the genre of meta-commentary itself. There are air quotes and winks at the audience in almost every scene. I'm fine with both, so since the movie is exceptionally well cast and stylishly filmed, I thought it was a hoot. But those who are not well-versed in Agatha Christie and the darkly comic British Kitchen Sink-era responses to her mysteries may find it so arch that it will make their fillings ache. The Mousetrap, a play by Agatha Christie, is the longest-running play in history, opening in 1952 in London's West End and, except for a pause during the pandemic, running ever since with over 28,000 performances. "See How They Run"-the title also connected to literary mice through the nursery rhyme. It all speeds by briskly when it isn't distracting us with lazy flashbacks and knee-slappers like calling a possible murder "staged" because it is literally on a stage. And the performance and production values are fun for British mystery fans, with Saoirse Ronan, as always, pure joy as the eager young Constable Stalker (those names!) and the cast clearly enjoying having fun with the conventions and archetypes of the genre. There are references to the serial killer film "10 Rillington Place" and, less successfully, to a gruesome real-life murder that may have inspired The Mousetrap. If all of this is sounding like too much work, you should probably stick with the original or with better meta-mysteries like "Knives Out" and its upcoming sequel "Glass Onion" and the wildly funny theatrical production The Play that Goes Wrong. Still, all the stylishness and enthusiasm cannot disguise the fact that the mystery itself never comes close to those concocted by Dame Agatha. Then again, no one else has topped her either.
