“In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered.” -IMDB
Every few years, a new set of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie-based movies comes along to offer a fresh perspective on the tried and true mystery tales of these two respected authors. Unfortunately, there have been so many adaptations at this point that it seems some filmmakers are using meta narratives in order to avoid convention.
In order to throw the audience off, See How They Run tries to throw the audience off kilter by setting the central whodunnit within a stage version of Christie’s Mousetrap (complete with modern actors playing real actors from the age, such as Richard Attenborough). However, instead of distracting from the suspect, this tactic distracts from the narrative itself. With an already crammed cast of characters, it becomes hard to know who or what to focus on and the whole film becomes a bit of a blur.
Now See How They Run stands head and shoulders above Death on the Nile, also released this year. The cast is stellar and the writing has much more wit to it; however, the same issue threads throughout both films. Stories that have been told as frequently as Christie’s don’t need additional red herrings or famous faces to distract from the suspect. At this point, most of us known whodunnit! Instead, there needs to be a fresh addition the story. One of the reasons Knives Out did so well (although it is not a Christie retelling) is because it stayed true to the classic murder mystery storyline while also infusing a fresh dose of comedy (and yes, even reaching for the meta at times by making reference to its predecessor, Clue).
So, while this murder mystery has its moments, it unfortunately fell into the more “forgettable” bucket of Christie (or Christie-inspired) adaptations. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how the next one is…
Rating: 5 out 10 Claire Bears
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If you like this movie, you should also watch: Murder on the Orient Express, Amsterdam
Streaming: Available to rent or own on Apple TV
With: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, David Oyelowo
Directed By: Tom George
Let Me Clarify 