When Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody), a Hollywood director in preproduction on a film adaption of West End’s The Mouse Trap, celebrating its 100th performance that evening, is found murdered, it is up to Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) to solve the case.  The suspect list starts off long, and only keeps growing with each clue and interview as the Scottland Yard odd couple begins making their way through the twisted web of love, lies, deceit, and affairs going on backstage of the play. 

Tom George directs the comic-caper, See How They Run, penned by Mark Chappell and released by Searchlight.  From the opening voiceover which opines about the mundanity of whodunit mysteries, and how they all follow a similar formula on their way to wrapping everything up neatly in the drawing room, it promises the audience that this will not be just another one of those dime a dozen paperback crimes.  The irony, then, and the film is totally self-aware of this, is that it does become just another murder plot spelling out its ending in plain sight and revealing the motive in the most innocuous of details to fuel the big reveal.  See How They Run leans a little too far into this cheeky territory, and the act quickly becomes tiresome, but for the most part, it is still an endearing ride as Stoppard and Stalker wade their way through the backstage drama in search of the truth even if staying engaged with the two is difficult. 

Brody’s Leo is the main entry into the film, so it is a surprise when he also quickly becomes the victim.  His poking arrogance introduces us to the cast of characters who will all be under investigation; Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) the lofty lead of the play, Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson) the firecracker on his arm, and Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo) the screenwriter with whom Leo does not see eye to eye with on any of the decisions regarding the upcoming film. With the crime committed and the police alerted, it is up to Stoppard and Stalker to get to the bottom of the mystery, and while it will not be until quite late into the 98-minute film that the killer will strike again, the looming trouble this negative press is putting on the Hollywood production is supposed to be enough pressure to get the case solved quickly. It is not. 

See How They Run is meandering in its first act, and not in a putting the pieces together kind of way. It is just slow. The first few interviews help to color in some context as to why tensions were so high at the celebration of the 100th performance, but the story keeps chasing its tail and repeating the same few details as it heavily interrogates the prime suspect, who the audience already know did not commit the crime simply by nature of these kinds of stories. What makes this opening gambit even harder to work through is the whimsical style of the editing that, to reach for the low-hanging fruit here, is reminiscent of the lesser works of Wes Anderson. With the split framing, symmetry, and physical comedy akin to any Hanna-Barbera cartoon, See How They Run is little more than a collection of references and inspiration points with little to add to the genre despite its winking at the audience throughout the duration. 

The most egregious thing about the film is that the cast seems bored in their roles. These films allow for bold choices, a chance to play it up for the cheap seats, and while the script has a number of wild antics to wade through, it all seems very put together and rehearsed. There is no joy or excitement to be found as the ensemble cast bumbles and berates each other and a lot of this is due to the unabashedly unashemed use of archetype characters in the script. These stories rely on caricature, but there is nothing new or exciting here and if the script was not playing at being so self-aware, it would not be as big of an issue because it would be just another lackluster whodunit. To be an effective parody of something, you need to be at least as smart as what you are taking down, and See How They Run is just far too lazy in the writing to be able to poke fun at the Agatha Christie model. This lack of fun is only magnified as the film follows the detective duo, Ronan and Rockwell, who have very little chemistry together. This tried and true newbie with the veteran dynamic is vital to the success of the film, and it just does not land here. Their banter, which drives much of the spoken comedy in the film, never lines up quite right so the framework of the jokes is clearly seen, but there is never any payoff come the punch line. 

Because of the poor performances, the sickening sweetness of the film wears out its welcome early on. As a murder mystery, it is inherent that there will be clues littered throughout that inform and guide the narrative to its final reveal. This in and of itself is not the problem, rather it is in the twee tone where the film jokes about our expectations and then goes and delivers on those exact expectations. Arguably, the film is doing this all ironically, but the tone and delivery are wearisome as every little detail gets wrapped up nice and neat with an ornate bow. This is done rapid fire in the final twenty or so minutes of the film which finds the cast shuffled into the drawing room to mingle before dinner. It is clear as day what the film is doing, but Chappell gets so lost in his self-appointed cleverness that he keeps his audience held hostage for far too long. 

See How They Run has all the makings of a strong release in the pitch and with plenty of star power to boot. It just falls apart completely in the execution between the editing, scripting, and direction, the cast seems lost – a little aimless – and none of the performances mesh well with one another. The disparity is not enjoyable to watch and the mystery itself is not all that engaging, so despite the camera tricks and constant motion in the frame, See How They Run offers very little to its audience as it goes through the motions, promising to deliver a unique take on the genre and instead caving to every tradition.