Even though I don’t generally go to Regal Theaters–I have an AMC Stubbs A-List membership–I still have the app on my phone and was surprised to learn there were a whopping eight new releases this weekend. Yes, not all of them were big releases, and I’m not sure a couple of them got to my neck of the woods just yet, but that’s a lot. How many would I actually go to see? Well, I figured I’d start with the ones that based on what I knew about them probably wouldn’t have a long run at the local multiplex. So, the one that looked like the biggest release–The Woman King–could wait in favor of smaller or more artsy films.
To that end, I opted to start with the comedic murder mystery See How They Run.
It’s 1953 or so. A celebration is underway for the 100th performance of the hit London play The Mousetrap, based on a story by Agatha Christie. The play is set to become a movie, and obnoxious American film director Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody) is busy more or less annoying everyone involved in the production. However, as he predicted, the most annoying member of the cast would be murdered and he soon ends up dead. Enter Scotland Yard, as exemplified by Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell doing a nearly nonexistent British accent) and the highly enthusiastic Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan), to look into the case. There are plenty of suspects, ranging from the disgruntled playwright (David Oyelowo), the frustrated film producer (Reece Shearsmith), and even the lead actors, a married couple (Harris Dickinson and Pearl Chanda).
With lots of suspects, it does come down to Stoppard and Stalker to solve the case. Stoppard seems barely interested, but that’s probably due to the fact he’s something of a drunk. Stalker is forever writing things down and seems intent to jump to conclusions without much provocation, but she’s also something of a cinephile who likes going to the movies and knows a thing or two about the theater. Stoppard actually is rather knowledgeable on solving murders, but he doesn’t seem too inclined to share what he knows even though he’s supposed to. And since the crime involves Agatha Christie, the celebrity angle might put more pressure on the two, but they seem to be the two best detectives to basically ignore all that. But does that mean they can solve the crime?
I had some hopes for this one. True, they weren’t particularly high hopes, but the trailers looked different, and I would probably watch Ronan read a phone book. She really is a highlight in this movie, where Stalker’s general unthinking enthusiasm makes for most of the movie’s better laughs. Granted, I am generally a fan of meta comedy, and the movie has a bit of that, such as how Brody’s director and Oyelowo’s writer both comment on the action as it goes and events repeat themselves in both fiction and “real” life.
But somehow, the movie didn’t quite work for me. Rockwell is normally a delight, and he barely registered here. The jokes often seems kinda obvious even if I didn’t see them coming. I felt like the movie might have worked if it had either gone broader or maybe underplayed things more. Instead, the movie seemed to be unable to make up its mind as to what sort of tone it would take. It wasn’t broad enough to be a screwball farce, and it wasn’t subtle enough to be more of a lighter comedy. The end result is a movie that occasionally made me smile, but beyond Ronan, didn’t really seem to have anything worth recommending.
Grade: C+
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