See How They Run (2022 film)

See How They Run (2022 film)
File:See How They Run (2022 film).jpg US theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tom George
Produced by	Damian Jones Gina Carter
Written by	Mark Chappell
Starring	Sam Rockwell Saoirse Ronan Adrien Brody Ruth Wilson Reece Shearsmith Harris Dickinson David Oyelowo
Music by	Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography	Jamie D. Ramsay
Edited by	Gary Dollner Peter Lambert
Production company	DJ Films TSG Entertainment
Distributed by	Searchlight Pictures
Release dates	9 September 2022 (2022-09-09) (United Kingdom) 16 September 2022 (2022-09-16) (United States)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Box office	$7.8 million

See How They Run is a 2022 mystery comedy film directed by Tom George, written by Mark Chappell, and produced by Damian Jones and Gina Carter. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson, and David Oyelowo.

See How They Run was theatrically released by Searchlight Pictures in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2022 and in the United States on 16 September. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In London in 1953, sleazy American film director Leo Kopernick attempts to convince John Woolf, the producer of the Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap, which is celebrating 100 performances and starring renowned actor Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, to allow him to direct an adaptation. After an argument with some of the guests and a fight with Attenborough, Kopernick is ambushed and killed by an unseen assailant in the costume room.

Injured World War II veteran Inspector Stoppard and inexperienced Constable Stalker, a widowed mother, are seperately assigned to the case. They gather everyone at the theatre as suspects, including the theatre owner Petula Spencer and Woolf's wife Edana Romney, and Stoppard opts for the theatre to be closed until the murder is solved. Commissioner Harrold Scott berates Stoppard for drawing negative attention to the murder and the department.

Stoppard and Stalker go to the Savoy Hotel, where the manager reports overhearing Kopernik arguing with screenwriter Mervyn Cocker-Norris, who issued death threats. When Stoppard and Stalker visit Mervyn, Kopernik is revealed to have adamantly pitched an alternate, action-packed ending for The Mousetrap film adaptation. Mervyn mentions seeing a "plain woman" arriving at the hotel with Kopernick's illegitimate son. Mervyn is also shown living with his hot-headed "nephew" Gio. Stoppard and Stalker visit Woolf, who mentions how Kopernick approached him in a nightclub and became aware of his affair with his assistant, Ann Saville; Woolf appeared worried that Kopernick might expose him.

Stoppard and Stalker interview Dennis, a theatre usher, who claims to have seen a figure acting suspiciously. They then visit Attenborough and Sheila. She tells the pair that Kopernick offered her the lead role in the Mousetrap film. Petula tells the two that she signed over the film rights of Mousetrap to Woolf, who would be unable to produce the film adaptation until the show completes its first run, meaning he cannot start production until the show closes.

Stoppard and Stalker go to a pub, where they talk about their personal lives. Driving a drunken Stoppard home, Stalker finds news articles and a picture of Stoppard with his ex-wife, whom he divorced after she was unfaithful to him, and who fits Mervyn's description of a "homely woman with glasses". Suspicious, Stalker searches for the name of Stoppard's ex-wife in connection with a book of names they found in Kopernick's hotel room.

The pair attend a performance of The Mousetrap. During one scene, several people—including Stalker and Stoppard—leave the auditorium. Mervyn is strangled to death in the lobby and Stoppard chases after the killer but he escapes. Stalker sees Stoppard running, thinks he is the murderer and knocks him out. He wakes in a cell with Stalker and Scott accusing him of murder and claiming to have found his ex-wife Joyce, but she turns out to be another woman named Joyce, exonerating Stoppard. Stalker escorts Joyce home and asks her about when she went to see Kopernick with their son; Joyce mentions hearing a voice with a "village idiot's" accent. Initially suspecting Gio of having a motive to kill both Mervyn and Kopernick, Stoppard searches Mervyn's files and finds news articles on two young brothers, one of whom died from parental neglect; The Mousetrap is based on said case.

Petula arrives at the home of Agatha Christie along with her mother, Attenborough, Sheila, Woolf and Ann, supposedly on a dinner invitation. The butler Fellowes attempts to deny them entry, but Max Mallowan, Christie's husband, allows them in. They are unexpectedly confronted by Dennis the usher, whom Petula's mother recognises as Dennis Corrigan, one of the brothers from the case. He reveals himself as the killer, and wanted to stop the play and any adaptations from continuing by killing those involved, including Kopernick and Mervyn, feeling they exploit his brother's tragedy for entertainment. He reveals "Agatha" tied up in a rug, but it is actually Edana, who reveals she already knew about her husband's affair. As Stoppard and Stalker drive to the house, Agatha herself emerges with cups of tea, and attempts to give a poisoned cup to Dennis, but Fellowes dies from the drugged tea instead. Stoppard arrives, but before Dennis can shoot him, Stalker runs in and pushes Stoppard out of the way, matching the scenario Kopernick hat pitched for the alternate ending; the bullet grazes Stoppard, who then shoots Dennis twice before Agatha kills him with a shovel to the head.

Later, Stalker takes her sergeants exam and passes, and Stoppard, after recovering from his injuries, is awarded alongside Commissioner Scott. The film ends with Stoppard and Stalker attending another performance of The Mousetrap.

Cast

• Sam Rockwell as Inspector Stoppard
• Saoirse Ronan as Constable Stalker
• Adrien Brody as Leo Köpernick
• Ruth Wilson as Petula Spencer
• Reece Shearsmith as John Woolf
• Harris Dickinson as Richard Attenborough
• David Oyelowo as Mervyn Cocker-Norris
• Charlie Cooper as Dennis the Usher
• Shirley Henderson as Agatha Christie
• Pippa Bennett-Warner as Ann Saville
• Pearl Chanda as Sheila Sim
• Paul Chahidi as Fellowes
• Sian Clifford as Edana Romney
• Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Gio
• Lucian Msamati as Max Mallowan
• Tim Key as Commissioner Harrold Scott

Production

The film was announced in November 2020 as an untitled mystery film from Searchlight Pictures, with Tom George on board to direct from a screenplay by Mark Chappell. Filming wrapped by April 2021. The title was revealed to be See How They Run in July 2021.

Release

See How They Run was theatrically released in the UK on 9 September 2022, and in the US on 16 September. The film was originally set for a 30 September release in the US, but was pushed up by two weeks due to "the lack of major studio product in the fall".

Reception

Box office

As of 19 September 2022, See How They Run has grossed $3.3 million in the US and Canada, and $4.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $7.8 million.

The film made $1.1 million on its first day and went on to debut to $3.1 million from 2,404 cinemas, finishing fourth at the box office.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 128 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "See How They Run may not do itself many favors by asking for Christie comparisons, but this is still one fun whodunit." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.

External links

• See How They Run at IMDb