Beyond a gripping screenplay, every murder-mystery flick’s triumph hinges on its payoff — was it gratifying…was it fresh? To a satisfying degree, See How They Run delivers an enjoyable payoff that is relatively distinct in its genre.
But this film’s engaging journey is exactly what made it a joy to watch. It follows the quest of Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan), who are tasked to solve the murder of Leo Köpernick, a director desperately trying to make a film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder-mystery, The Mousehunt.
This fitting nature of See How They Run sets itself up for enjoyable comical jabs. It celebrates, pokes fun of and throws tantrums at murder-mystery story tropes, through its characters who are producers, scriptwriters and directors themselves. And it does so…without breaking the fourth wall. (Whaaat, no way!)
See How They Run also scores at shaping the dynamics of our two contrasting leads. The cops’ dysfunctional yet charming working relationship will almost instantly grow on you, with their interactions with (more like investigations of) various characters making way for some truly hilarious moments. At many points, I personally wasn’t too focused on the payoff, simply because the ride was a joyful one.
However, with relatively recent flicks like Knives Out still fresh in my mind, there were many similarities in both movies in terms of tone, direction and editing, which I’m not too sure what to feel about. Was it inspiration or copy? Either way, this movie still does bring something new to the table.
At a “generous” 96 min, See How They Run is well-paced, loveable and has charismatic performances that are armed to overpower the modern audience’s itching need to scroll their phones every hour.
See How They Run is now out in all theatres, and is a refreshing, surefire remedy for those of us suffering from blockbuster burn out.