Set in London in the early ’50s, See How They Run sees The Mousetrap celebrating its 100th performance. The cast includes the celebrated Richard Attenborough (perfectly embodied by Harris Dickinson) and his wife Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda), meanwhile obnoxious Hollywood director Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody) is visiting the capital city ahead of plans to adapt The Mousetrap into a movie, with screenwriter Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo) working on the script. Tensions at the party are running high and an altercation occurs, Köpernick retreats to the wardrobe department of the theatre to fetch a change of clothes, but there’s someone waiting for him… The scene is set for a parlour murder mystery in true Christie style, and the sleuths charged with solving the crime are world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and young whippersnapper Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan). Stoppard is sardonic and cynical (and Rockwell’s London accent doesn’t distract), while Stalker is determined but impulsive. Ronan, who has already shown herself to be one of the most interesting actors of her generation, here proves she has an absolutely brilliant knack for comedy. She gets all the best lines, of course, (check out the trailer for a taste) but she also raises plenty of laughs from some subtle physical comedy. In fact, the whole cast is stellar. Secondary players/suspects/potential victims include Ruth Wilson as theatre impresario Petula Spencer (a nod towards The Mousetrap backer Peter Saunders), Reece Shearsmith as real life producer John Woolf and This Country’s Charlie Cooper as the hapless usher (Tom George, who makes his feature debut with See How They Run, is the director of This Country). Each of our players has a motive to off the loathsome Köpernick and it’s up to Stoppard and Stalker to solve the crime. Tonally reminiscent of Rian Johnson’s playful Knives Out, this is also a classic and extremely well devised whodunnit, which encourages the audience to spot clues along the way. The guileless Stalker is our eyes and ears and her obsessive note taking encourages the audience to mentally do the same. Packed with period detail and an obvious love for theatre, London, and the drawing room mystery, See How They Run is an incredibly competent feature debut for George, where all elements of the production: costumes, hair and make-up, set design, soundtrack, lighting, the lot, work perfectly in sync like the slickest of West End shows. This is one of the most joyful films of the year and perfect for a night on the town – well worth it for the price of a cinema ticket. See How They Run is out now in cinemas in the UK. In the US it opens on Sept. 16.
