Review: 'See How They Run' is a mystery farce where only Saoirse Ronan is running at the right speed

On paper, the murder-mystery comedy “See How They Run” should work: Clever premise, strong cast, and the juicy target of the grande dame of mysteries, Agatha Christie.

In execution, though, director Tom George — helming his first feature — never sets the proper rhythm for what should be a fast and funny send-up of the mystery genre and Christie’s seemingly indestructible play, “The Mousetrap.”

It’s 1953, and the cast of “The Mousetrap” — led by a young Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) as Christie’s detective, Sgt. Trotter — is celebrating its 100th performance on London’s West End. But not everyone is celebrating. The movie producer, John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith), would rather see the show’s run end soon, so he can start making the movie, directed by a boorish American filmmaker, Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody).

It’s Kopernick’s voice we hear in the opening narration, as he ticks off everything he hates about mystery stories — from the predictable patter to the fact that the least likable character is the one who gets offed. Sure enough, at the cast party, Leo is particularly obnoxious, and pretty soon he’s found dead on the stage.

Enter Scotland Yard, in the form of the lazy and semi-alcoholic Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and his overly excitable young constable, Officer Stalker (Saoirse Ronan). Stoppard has to temper Stalker’s impulsive desire to declare the last person they’ve interviewed to be the murderer. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Stoppard tells Stalker, who dutifully writes that — along with everything else — in her notebook.

Soon Stoppard and Stalker are confronted with an array of suspects: Woolf, for one, as well as the theater’s profit-minded producer, Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson); Melvyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo), a prim playwright who’s been hired to write the screenplay for “The Mousetrap” and was arguing with Leo about how to do it; or maybe Mervyn’s hot-tempered Italian “roommate,” Rio (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd). 

Throw in Woolf’s jittery wife, Edana (Sian Clifford), and Woolf’s assistant — and hidden lover — Ann Seville (Pippa Bennett-Warner), and you should have the makings of a strong whodunnit.

Screenwriter Mark Chappell, a British TV writer also on his first feature, injects some wry commentary about the mystery genre — and how formulaic Christie’s work sometimes was — in with the densely plotted story.  There’s also a jab at violent and dumbed-down American filmmaking, one that pays off well in the final reel.

The problem is that George’s pacing pokes along when it should gallop. Farces like this need to speed past, so we don’t have time to examine the flaws.

The one performer who understood the assignment is Ronan. Her take on Constable Stalker, as a tightly wound and eager-to-please junior officer who understands the law and can break out a dead-solid Katharine Hepburn impersonation, delivers the screwball energy “See How They Run” could use a lot more of.

——

‘See How They Run’

★★1/2

Opens Friday, September 18, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for some violence/bloody images and a sexual reference. Running time: 98 minutes.