See How They Run (2022, dir. Tom George, UK) by Kymm Zuckert

(In a flashback)

“Flashbacks are crass, lazy, and interrupt the flow of the story. The only thing worse is a title card that says three weeks later!”

(Three weeks later)

Do you like Agatha Christie? Do you like post-war British comedies? Do you like movies about theatre? Then do I have a movie for you!

I only discovered See How They Run by perusing the listings of my local AMC, and was like, why did they not advertise this film? They clearly made it for me, why didn’t they tell me about it? Or anyone? Then I heard from friends that it has been advertised everywhere constantly, so apparently it really was only me that they was trying to keep it secret from, but I foiled that plot, saw the movie, and it will be on my ten best of the year, without question. Suck it, secret keepers!

It is London, early 1950’s, and the Agatha Christie play, The Mousetrap, just had its 100th performance, so there is a party to celebrate. Dickie Attenborough (Harris Dickson, about a foot taller than actual Attenborough) and his wife Sheila Sim (Pearl Chandra) are there (who actually were in the original cast of The Mousetrap, still running lo these many years later) (they are not in it anymore, they are dead). Also, crass American film director, Leo Kopernick (Adrian Brody), film producer John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith), screenwriter Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo), producer of the play Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson), and other assorted suspects. Suspects, you say? Well, of course, as this party for an Agatha Christie play, there is a murder!

Bring on the world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell), and the bright-eyed Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) to solve the case. She is a big film and theatre fan, he drinks a lot and has lost any real spark in his life. Can these two mis-matched teammates find out who the killer is before he or she strikes again? Also, what happens in The Mousetrap?

Possibly the most amazing thing in this movie is the fact that The Mousetrap is a huge plot point, and they manage not to give away the ending for those who have not experienced The Mousetrap! Of course, if you have, there are so many Easter eggs embedded in the film, not only of that play, but of so much else. You don’t have to get all the references to enjoy it, but I’ll bet they make it better. 

For instance, the remark to Inspector Stoppard that, “He was a real hound, Inspector!” is funny if you know that Tom Stoppard wrote The Real Inspector Hound, but if you don’t, the line makes perfect sense in context and you won’t feel like you are missing something. 

On the other hand, pretty much everyone will get the Poirot reference when Constable Stalker asks a hotel manager, “What part of France are you from?” and he answers, “Belgium.”

This movie is hilarious and charming, the performances are fun, and I haven’t had this good a time in a movie since Everything Everywhere All at Once. 

I don’t know how long this will be in the theatres, but you should run to see See How They Run. See what I did there?

Kymm Zuckert is an actor/writer/native Angelino. When Kymm was a child, her parents would take her to see anything, which means that sometimes she will see a film today and say, “I saw that when I was eight, I don’t remember any of that inappropriate sex stuff!” Check out her entire 365 day blog @ https://365filmsin365days.movie.blog