After immersing yourself in the light pastels, jaunty music and Adrian Brody voiceover of the opening scene, coupled with the introduction of Saoirse Ronan, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d just walked into a Wes Anderson film. However, viewer, you’ve actually tumbled into the debut film of Tom George, who has replaced rural countryside of his acclaimed BBC Three sitcom This Country with the urban landscape of 1950s London.
As a movie production of The Mousetrap is about to be filmed, the director is killed off, leading to an increasingly meta murder-within-a murder play scenario as Ronan’s plucky junior police constable Stalker is paired with the laconic Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) to track down the killer. Like Agatha Christie’s famous play, the longest running in West End history, everyone has a motive, so it’s up to the pair to work out whodunnit from a wide range of suspects.
What could’ve been a fairly bog-standard, run-of the mill concept is elevated immensely by the talent of Ronan in particular as she notes down every detail of the case (even Stoppard’s suggestion to write fewer notes), and the film’s constant self-referential tone creates numerous opportunities for comedy. It’s light, fluffy, and it’s not going to change cinema anytime soon, but if you’re looking for a cosy watch on a Sunday afternoon, See How They Run is an ideal choice.