Like Whodunnits? Go see “See How They Run”

I don’t know that I want to say “Knives Out” spurred a renewed interest in the “whodunnit” genre, but I’m tempted to say that “See How They Run” is the first since then that does justice to the genre. “Knives Out” is a more grounded, generally more fully realized and original work; but “See How They Run”’s script by Mark Chappell does a fine job of taking a screwball approach to it.

I won’t go into a lot of detail about the plot because I could well give away who done it. That said, just quickly; the movies opens on a voiceover by Hollywood director Leo Kopernick, played to perfection by Adrien Brody and recounts how hacky and predictable drawing room murder mysteries and how he is at a party with the cast and crew of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” since he wants to be in line to direct the movie adaptation. Oh, and he is speaking from the afterlife, having been murdered in the theater during a performance. 

The case is assigned to Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) who Odd Couple it through the investigation in fine form. I never knew that I needed a Rockwell and Ronan Roadshow; set aside that they just seem to be having the time of the lives, they are both freaking funny. And genuinely nuanced within the confines of a pretty off-the-wall comedy. 

In fact, the whole piece does a fine job with the balancing act of not going too broad or playing anything too straight. “See How They Run” is a good example of a farce where each scene doesn’t overstay its welcome. Nothing drags; it is a really well-paced movie. And of course (of course), it’s the performances that root the movie. 

The suspects are all unique, and really well depicted and fleshed-out. There’s the playwright Melvyn Cocker-Norris, played by David Oyelowo whose script for the film adaptation at the center of the possible reason for why he might have killed Kopernick. As played, he has his Italian boyfriend/lover (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) whom he introduces as his “nephew” and is jealous of Melvyn’s flirtation with an usher. 

Then there’s Petula “Chew” Spencer a dry-as-bones-in-the-desert Ruth Wilson as the producer of the play who was fighting the studio’s insistence to end the play in order to produce the film (Christie had stipulated that there would be no film adaptation until the show has completed its run in West End - it is still running; the longest running play ever), Reece Shearsmith as studio head John Woolf whose extramarital relationship with his assistant was pretty much seen through by Kopernick and has him pegged as a suspect; then there’s Richard Attenborough (a hoot as played by Harris Dickinson) whose wife was accosted by/hit on by Kopernick and with whom he had a physical altercation (a nicely edited segment). I really don’t want to go on too much more because I feel like I’m about to blow the story.

Now, all of these performances are precision pieces of timing and delivery but as I mentioned above, do read as human beings. But the movie is held together by Ronan and Rockwell. It’s not just the timing, it’s not just the writing; they bring a kind of fullness to the characters that in lesser hands simply wouldn’t be there. Also, there are some grace notes for each of them in terms of back story that prove to be integral in terms of the plot and that define our heroes even more. To use an oft-used word, their chemistry is damn near perfect.

Rockwell’s British accent is subtle but sounds genuine to these ears and as broad as he goes - who knew that he was such a fine physical comic? - it never devolves into mugging and is used to emphasize that the inspector’s attention may be elsewhere for a variety of reasons I’ll not go into here. Likewise, Ronan’s Constable Stalker is a joy. This is going to sound odd, if not patronizing, but I’ve never seen Saorise Ronan as “cute”. Like Rockwell, she’s not mugging or wrinkling her nose or doing anything overtly “endearing”; the character is a green police officer with a penchant for film and a desire to be really good at her job. 

Tom George’s direction is fleet and keeps the movie moving briskly. There is no dead air, no lag, and none of the proceedings feels rush. 

As you might have figured out, the movie is also replete with meta references, visual puns…heck, the title is a play on words/concept. Obviously, “See how they run” from “Three Blind Mouse”, “Inspector Stoppard” is a reference to Tom Stoppard who wrote ”The Real Inspector Hound” which is a play-within-a-play (and I can’t say more on this…just gonna leave this out here), the names on the list of dentists at one point in the film are references to characters in a number of Christie works, and I better stop or I’m going to kill a whodunnit and that’s a cardinal sin. 

Oh, and I know some people are dragging the movie for its anachronisms. Yes, Black people have prominent roles in a movie set in 1953, but that’s actually the point. I think what George and Chappell did is not so very different from Tarantino’s rewriting of the historical record in “Inglorius Basterds” or “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…” The narrative aims may be different, but the idea of using a revision of an earlier period helps clear out room for more diversity, keep a genre current and relevant, and prove that once again, the play’s the thing.