The lights in the cinema go down, and after the requisite advertisements, the title appears on the big screen: See How They Run. I am filled with excitement regarding what the film promises to be. I must admit that lately, I have become quite selective about the films I choose to see in the theater, as prices, in my view, have become rather steep. Something that strikes me as odd is the very short run films have had in the cinemas of my city; I almost missed it, but I arrived just in time. Upon entering, I find that it is a small theater with barely ten people in attendance—a fact for which I am enormously grateful, as there was no distracting noise from other spectators. Everyone there was present because they truly had an interest.
The beginning is promising: a voice-over (a subtle irony aimed at the viewer’s intelligence) draws us into the narrative. The actors are magnificent, as are the sets, the art direction, the tempo, and the West End atmosphere of 1950s London they manage to evoke. It is a “Cozy Mystery” in every sense, fulfilling all the requirements with a sublime screenplay. See How They Run proposes a metalinguistic exercise, dissecting the tropes of the detective genre.
Synopsis.
Agatha Christie’s celebrated play The Mousetrap is celebrating its first hundred performances, and during the festivities, Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody)—the director slated to helm the film version—is murdered. Entering the scene (in a sort of breaking of the fourth wall) are Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) to solve the crime. The aforementioned film director intended to turn Christie’s popular play into a movie, expressing his disdain for detective novel adaptations that supposedly follow the same principle over and over: the Agatha Christie “Whodunit.” According to him, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. For this reason, he wants to do something different with the adaptation of The Mousetrap, which does not sit well with the purists or the producers of the film-within-the-film, bringing us face-to-face with meta-cinema.
(These critiques serve as a sharp reflection on the genre, delivered with pause and respect.)
Disagreements within the creative team become increasingly apparent: the director, a cynical and ill-tempered character who defies conventions, cannot see eye-to-eye with the screenwriter—a man who is overrated and somewhat obsessed with validating his own worth. In this context of general bewilderment, a second murder is committed. The investigation proceeds and unfolds largely within the theater, except for the climax when they are invited to Agatha Christie’s home—or so they believe.
Cast.
- Sam Rockwell as Inspector Stoppard.
- Saoirse Ronan as Constable Stalker.
- Adrien Brody as Leo Köpernick.
- Ruth Wilson as Petula Spencer.
- Reece Shearsmith as John Woolf.
- Harris Dickinson as Richard Attenborough.
- David Oyelowo as Mervyn Cocker-Norris.
- Charlie Cooper as Dennis the usher.
- Shirley Henderson as Agatha Christie.
- Pippa Bennett-Warner as Ann Saville.
- Pearl Chanda as Sheila Sim.
- Paul Chahidi as Fellowes.
- Sian Clifford as Edana Romney.
- Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Gio.
- Lucian Msamati as Max Mallowan.
- Tim Key as Commissioner Harrold Scott.
Director.
Tom George, BAFTA award winner (This Country).
Soundtrack.
Daniel Pemberton.
Producers.
- Damian Jones.
- Gina Carter.
Conclusion.
This film is pure metafiction with a dual purpose: a tribute and a non-offensive mockery. The ego wars, the clashing personalities of the various figures, and the extreme behaviors that unfold elicit sporadic laughter (it is startling to see Christie brandishing a poker and fumbling at a crucial moment) and, in general, a warm regard for a story that seeks the viewer’s complicity.
I have rewatched it several times on different platforms; it deserves your full attention if you enjoy films of this genre and can appreciate the humor and fine English irony.
A sublime Cozy Mystery.
Curiosities.
The story revolves around the film adaptation of The Mousetrap, a play that began its run in London in 1952 and remained on stage uninterrupted until March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke its record. It resumed performances on May 17, 2021.