Posted at 9:30 a.m.
The plot begins with the story of a film based on the famous play The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, presented in London’s West End. In front of our screen, we become spectators of a film about this film based on the play. The plots intertwine.
Thus, the screenwriter of the future film (captivating David Oyelowo) affirms that he would never put flashbacks in the feature film he is preparing because he finds them in very bad taste. An insignificant replica in itself. Except that this sentence comes to interrupt a flashback in the film that we, spectators, watch. And as he says, “So what, a screen that says ‘three weeks later?’ “… the process is served to us and we dive into a flashforward of three weeks. This kind of tasty wink regularly punctuates the film.
See How They Run (Spectacular turn of events, in French) is cleverly edited, so as to play with our perception and thicken the plot of this classic “whodunit” (taken from “who’s done it”, qualifying the works as an enigma). The universe of the play comes to give clues on how to approach the film. And, ultimately, when the mystery is solved, it all comes together. We realize that the clues were everywhere, but impossible to detect before knowing the outcome of the investigation.
The universe of this feature film by director Tom George (Enemy Lines) is reminiscent of Wes Anderson-esque, but offers its own visual and narrative style. The pace is fast, even if the solution to the riddle comes to us slowly. Set in the 1940s, the story benefits from sets and costumes that refer to the era.
Sam Rockwell and Soirse Ronan form a fantastic duo, each playing a character that everything opposes to the other. Adrien Brody, Reece Shearsmith, David Oyelowo, Ruth Wilson and Harris Dickinson round out the main cast. The film gives us the impression of a camera which is not one at all, since the characters are in no way confined (unlike those in Agatha Christie’s play). It feels like this small community, each member of which could be the perpetrator of the murder, is locked in this story, which will have to be resolved so that everyone can finally move forward.
The Mousetrap is particularly known for the sentence uttered by the character of the policeman at the very end, which tells the public to keep the identity of the murderer secret, and which is referred to in the film. Looking at See How They Run, we become guardians of the secret it contains. The process is clever. Intriguing and well put together, See How They Run is delightful to watch and satisfying to finish.
See How They Run is presented in the original English version with French subtitles.
Crime comedy
See How They Run
Tom George
With Sam Rockwell, Soirse Ronan, Adrien Brody
1h38
Indoors