A murder occurs right as begins and for a very good reason: ItB次元官网网址檚 a whodunit film about a real murder backstage at a whodunit play where all the murders are fake.
Got that? Good. Shall we continue?
Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan star as police officers who must unravel this knotty mystery in early 1950s London in a film thatB次元官网网址檚 as much a valentine to whodunits as an indictment of them, and itB次元官网网址檚 not always clear which side the filmmakers are on.
ThereB次元官网网址檚 a touch of noir, some mocking of the murder-mystery tropes, a dash of self-awareness, lots of fedoras and coats, mannered humor B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淧oppycock!B次元官网网址� says one character; B次元官网网址淗itchcock, actually,B次元官网网址� comes the reply B次元官网网址� and an archness that keeps everything at armB次元官网网址檚 length.
All in all, a pleasant diversion, if not a particular memorable one, although it has snagged a pretty impressive cast, all employing upper-class British accents as thick as Devonshire scones. It seems perfectly designed for folks who adore Acorn TV and PBS British mysteries. You know how many celebrities decide to star in kiddie films so that their children can finally appreciate what they do for a living? Well, B次元官网网址淪ee How They RunB次元官网网址� is for their grandparents.
It kicks off backstage in the West End at Agatha ChristieB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Mousetrap,B次元官网网址� a mystery that in this telling has celebrated 100 performances and Hollywood is noticing. But thereB次元官网网址檚 a catch: No film adaptation can be made while the play is still running. That may lead to some sabotage.
When the malignant, would-be film director B次元官网网址� a delicious Adrien Brody, playing the only American B次元官网网址� ends up the victim of a murder B次元官网网址� sorry thatB次元官网网址檚 a MU-dur B次元官网网址� Rockwell and Ronan show up to solve the crime, he a steely-eyed copper who drinks too much and she a nervous novice prone to jumping to conclusions.
The early death of BrodyB次元官网网址檚 character doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean heB次元官网网址檚 out of the movie. HeB次元官网网址檚 our narrator, snacking on the dialogue as if it were an overstuffed pastrami sandwich. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a whodunit,B次元官网网址� he says at one point. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檝e seen one, youB次元官网网址檝e seen them all.B次元官网网址�
Also along for the ride are Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith and Harris Dickinson. ThereB次元官网网址檚 also a fancy intellectual screenwriter played insouciantly by David Oyelowo, who is derisively called B次元官网网址淟ondonB次元官网网址檚 most sensitive writer.B次元官网网址� It is a hoot to see him play insufferable B次元官网网址� as it is to see Ronan do comedy.
Director Tom George and screenwriter Mark Chappell revel in the time period B次元官网网址� the cars and furs and vintage dialogue speckled with B次元官网网址淒arlingsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淗op to it!B次元官网网址� This is a film for you if you like your police officers extremely polite. B次元官网网址淐onstable,B次元官网网址� says Rockwell to his partner. B次元官网网址淚nspector,B次元官网网址� the underling replies. They do this approximately 400 times.
It is a film that adores commenting on its own conventions as it folds in on itself, as when stage props fool savvy characters or when it introduces a flashback and OyelowoB次元官网网址檚 screenwriter complains that such a device is B次元官网网址渢he last refuge of a moribund imagination.B次元官网网址� Somewhere in here is an indictment of Hollywood but it is as blunt a weapon as the one that does the murder.
The filmmakers employ all kinds of ways to try to keep viewers interested, like split screens, some farce and a surreal dream sequence, but thereB次元官网网址檚 not enough humor or grit or anything other than actors swanning around in period clothing.
B次元官网网址淪ee How They RunB次元官网网址� fits perfectly in a vibe right now B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淥nly Murders in the BuildingB次元官网网址� on TV and B次元官网网址淜nives OutB次元官网网址� at the movie theater. Add to the list Kenneth BranaghB次元官网网址檚 Poirot adaptations B次元官网网址淢urder on the Orient ExpressB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淒eath on the Nile.B次元官网网址� Whodunits are hot. But if youB次元官网网址檝e see this one, youB次元官网网址檝e definitely seen them all.
B次元官网网址淪ee How They Run,B次元官网网址� a Searchlight Pictures release only in theaters starting Friday, is rated PG-13 for B次元官网网址渟ome violence/bloody images and a sexual reference.B次元官网网址� Running time: 98 minutes. One star out of four.
B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press
