The ????? ?????? ?????new 1950s-set whodunnit See How They Run never escapes from Agatha Christie's shadow, but that's entirely by design. And while Christie fans may get more out of the film's references than people who are less familiar with her work, it's still an enjoyable caper thanks to the charm of its stars.

Agatha Christie's name is actually the very first thing we hear spoken in the film, delivered in voice-over by Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody), a sleazy American movie director who is murdered in the first few minutes of the film. Her wildly successful play The Mousetrapserves as a backdrop for the investigation of his death, which is just one way her presence lingers over the entire film like haze over a theater stage.

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At times, the film feels more like a companion piece to The Mousetrap than a fully original mystery. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as the movie wears its references on its charming sleeves, but it can occasionally feel frustrating to watch See How They Run adhere so steadfastly to the framework it has set itself instead of tearing off in its own direction.

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See How They Run delivers a meta murder mystery.

There's a murderer among us... Credit: Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures

Leo's opening voice-over sets the tone for See How They Run's attitude towards its own genre. An American director tasked with the movie adaptation of The Mousetrap, Leo has little to no patience for whodunnits. As he tells us, "You've seen one, you've seen them all."

To Leo, Christie-style mysteries are all too predictable. He lists their tropes with ennui: the group of suspicious characters gathered in some remote country house, the death of the least sympathetic among them, the arrival of a world-class detective, and of course, the reveal that the least likely suspect was, in fact, the killer. See How They Run will both employ and poke fun at each trope throughout its 98-minute runtime, making it part tribute, part send-up.

See How They Run is also intrigued by the idea of adaptation. How do you take a parlor mystery that plays out onstage and translate it to the screen? Leo suggests adding fire, shootouts, and car chases. His penchant for action puts him at odds with playwright Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo) and film producer John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith). In one particularly meta gag, Mervyn adamantly shoots down the idea that The Mousetrap film use flashbacks while in one of See How They Run's many flashbacks.

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But Mervyn and John aren't the only enemies Leo has made. His flirting with lead actress Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda) results in a brawl with leading actor (and Sheila's husband) Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) on the night of The Mousetrap's 100th performance. (Hardcore Christie fans will note that the real Attenborough and Sim were in the original 1952 West End run of The Mousetrap,and Woolf was a real movie producer who optioned The Mousetrapfor the big screen but was thwarted by the terms of the deal.) Not long after that, Leo is found dead — murdered, no less — in the theater.

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The hunt for the killer is on. On the case are the film-loving Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) and jaded Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell). (Rockwell's character is a nod to Tom Stoppard, whose play The Real Inspector Houndwas itself inspired by The Mousetrap.) With their differing approaches to the case, Stoppard and Stalker may as well be stand-ins for how we watch mystery movies. Stalker is keen to point fingers and jump to conclusions, while Stoppard tempers her expectations with claims that her theories are too complicated or too obvious. Watching them interact is like experiencing your inner detective monologue in real time.

Saoirse Ronan is See How They Run's MVP.

Constable Stalker, reporting for duty. Credit: Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures

As Stalker, Ronan gets free rein to showcase her comedic abilities. Stalker is constantly chomping at the bit, and Ronan hits every beat of Stalker's enthusiastic outbursts and awkward attempts to tone herself down. All of her line readings are instantly memorable, and she's a big reason for See How They Run's sky-high charm.

Rockwell and his gruffer, more melancholy performance offers a solid counterweight to Ronan. However, See How They Run merely skims over Stoppard and Stalker's tragic pasts, giving us the slightest twinge of pathos before careening back to the case at hand.

A murder mystery succeeds in large part due to the intrigue of its suspects, but See How They Run's motley crew is a tragically underdeveloped ensemble. Oyelowo is oodles of fun as the overly verbose Mervyn, but the characters of John, Sheila, and Richard never get as big of a chance to shine. They exist more as genre archetypes — the young couple, the high-powered man with a dark secret — and Christie trivia than as fully fleshed-out characters.

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And don't even get me started on theater owner Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson) or John's wife Edana Romney (Sian Clifford). Both Wilson and Clifford are terrific performers, but they're given so little to do! See How They Run's biggest crime might not be Leo's murder, but rather the underutilization of its great cast.

In See How They Run, you get a murder... with laughs.

A murder is no laughing matter... unless you're watching this movie. Credit: Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures

See How They Run may not use its cast to its fullest potential, but the actors make sure to bring every barb and jest of Mark Chappell's screenplay to life. From Mervyn's constant use of ten-dollar words to Stalker's insistence that everyone she meets is the killer, See How They Run is brimming with dry humor. Sometimes the jokes can fall into an overly predictable rhythm, but Tom George's stylish direction and the actors' understated delivery keeps things rolling.

The film stumbles most when it needs to drop the humor and engage fully with its darker undertones. References to the trauma of World War II feel more like set dressing than they do character development. The killer reveal hinges on a deep amount of pain that the movie doesn't quite manage to convey. If you're familiar with The Mousetrap, it might hit harder. Otherwise, you might find yourself wondering, "Really?"

Despite these flaws, See How They Run is an exceptionally fun time. Ronan, Rockwell, and the rest of the cast (underused though they may be) are firing on all cylinders; the jokes are consistently witty; and at 98 minutes long, the film is a zippy, propulsive ride. If Agatha Christie were still alive, I think she'd have a blast watching. You will too.

See How They Run is now in theaters.

Topics Film