See How They Run (2022 film)

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See How They Run
See How They Run (2022 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tom George
Written by Mark Chappell
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Jamie D. Ramsay
Edited by
  • Gary Dollner
  • Peter Lambert
Music by Daniel Pemberton
Production
companies
Distributed by Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • 9 September 2022 (2022-09-09)(United Kingdom)
  • 16 September 2022 (2022-09-16)(United States)
Running time
98 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$22 million

See How They Run is a 2022 comedy mystery film directed by Tom George, written by Mark Chappell and produced by Damian Jones and Gina Carter. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson, and David Oyelowo.

Contents

See How They Run was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2022 and in North America on 16 September 2022, by Searchlight Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $22 million worldwide. It was nominated for Outstanding British Film at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, among other accolades.

Plot

In 1953 London, Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap celebrates its 100th performance, and sleazy American director Leo Köpernick has been hired by producer John Woolf to direct the film adaptation. After Köpernick's drunken behaviour towards the female lead Sheila Sim leads to a fistfight with her husband and co-star Richard Attenborough, Köpernick is killed backstage by an unseen assailant.

Inspector Stoppard investigates the murder, shadowed by the inexperienced Constable Stalker. Everyone at the theatre is declared a suspect and a potential victim, including the play's producer Petula Spencer and Woolf's wife Edana Romney. Stoppard attempts to close the theatre until the murder is solved, but the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Harold Scott, intervenes, assigning Stalker to assist in the investigation.

Stoppard and Stalker search Köpernick's room at the Savoy Hotel, finding his address book of women's details. The hotel manager recalls Köpernick's violent argument with screenwriter Mervyn Cocker-Norris, who admits to arguing with Köpernick over the director's vision for an action-packed ending for The Mousetrap film. Mervyn, who lives with his hot-headed "nephew" Gio, remembers a "plain woman" arriving at the hotel with Köpernick's son.

Stoppard and Stalker question Woolf, who was blackmailed by Köpernick after he discovered Woolf's affair with his assistant, Ann. Dennis, an usher at the theatre, offers an unhelpful description of a suspicious figure; Attenborough and Sim are questioned as well. Spencer explains that she optioned The Mousetrap's film rights to Woolf, but he would be contractually unable to produce the adaptation until the show had closed.

At a pub, Stoppard bonds with Stalker and reveals that his unfaithful wife left him after having a child with another man. Driving a drunken Stoppard home, Stalker finds news articles and a picture of his ex-wife, fitting Mervyn's description of a "homely woman with glasses". Combined with Dennis' description, this leads Stalker to suspect Stoppard may be the killer, and she searches for his ex-wife in Köpernick's address book.

Stoppard and Stalker attend a performance of The Mousetrap, during which Mervyn, Woolf, Dennis, Gio and Stoppard leave the auditorium; Stalker soon follows after watching Stoppard retrieve his gloves. In the foyer, Mervyn is strangled to death by a gloved figure. Stalker spots Stoppard kneeling over the body and gives chase, knocking him unconscious with a snow shovel.

Stoppard awakens in a cell, and Stalker and Scott accuse him of carrying out the murders. Stalker has summoned Joyce, the mother of Köpernick's son, but she is not Stoppard's ex-wife, exonerating him. Stalker escorts Joyce and her son home, and Joyce mentions overhearing a man with a "village idiot" accent. Reading through Mervyn's research on The Mousetrap, Stoppard realises the identity of the killer and races to the suspect's apartment, where Stalker has already burst inside and found the necessary evidence: the killer is Dennis.

Attenborough, Sim, Woolf, Ann, Spencer and her elderly mother arrive at the home of Agatha Christie in Wallingford, Berkshire, having received invitations to dinner. The butler Fellowes is perplexed by their arrival, but Christie's husband, Max Mallowan, allows them inside. The group are held at gunpoint by Dennis, whom Spencer's mother recognises as Dennis Corrigan, an abused child whose brother's death inspired the plot of The Mousetrap. Dennis explains that he killed Köpernick and Mervyn in an attempt to stop the play and its adaptation, disgusted by the exploitation of his brother's tragedy for entertainment.

Having forged the invitations to lure everyone together, Dennis has captured Edana, mistaking her for Christie. Christie enters with tea, including a poisoned cup for Dennis which Fellowes inadvertently drinks instead. An armed Stoppard arrives and a shootout ensues; Sim distracts Dennis with a molotov cocktail, and Stalker nearly takes a bullet to save Stoppard, matching Köpernick's story pitch, before Agatha dispatches Dennis with a shovel. It is revealed that the bullet did, in fact, hit Stoppard, though the shot was not fatal. Some time later, Stalker passes her sergeant's exams and a recovering Stoppard receives the King's Police and Fire Services Medal, and they attend another performance of The Mousetrap together. At the very end of the film, Stoppard turns to the camera and asks the audience to keep the identity of the killer a secret, as happens at the end of the actual play The Mousetrap.

Cast

Production

The film was announced in November 2020 as an untitled mystery film from Searchlight Pictures, with Tom George on board to direct from a screenplay by Mark Chappell. [1] Filming wrapped by April 2021. [2] The title was revealed to be See How They Run in July 2021. [3]

Release

See How They Run was released theatrically in the UK on 9 September 2022, [4] [5] and in the US on 16 September. The film was originally set for a 30 September release in the US, but was brought forward by two weeks due to "the lack of major studio product" late in the year. [6]

The film was released for video on demand platforms on 1 November 2022. [7]

Reception

Box office

See How They Run grossed $9.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $22 million. [8] The film received a wide release domestically, debuting at $3.1 million from 2,404 cinemas, finishing fourth at the box office for its first weekend; it held at fifth the following weekend, and fell out of the Top 10 at the box office in its third week. [9]

Streaming viewership

According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, See How They Run was the 8th most streamed film across all platforms in the United States during the week of 31 October to 6 November 2022, [10] and the 10th during the week of 7 November to 13 November 2022. [11]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 75% of 191 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "See How They Run may not do itself many favors by asking for Christie comparisons, but this is still one fun whodunit." [12] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [13]

Teo Bugbee of The New York Times praised the film calling it "a plummy affair, a proper figgy pudding baked out of once-stale Scotland Yard tropes." [14] Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gave the film two and a half stars saying "all the stylishness and enthusiasm cannot disguise the fact that the mystery itself never comes close to those concocted by Dame Agatha." [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agatha Christie</span> English mystery and detective writer (1890–1976)

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a moniker which is now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Christie's best-known characters and has been portrayed numerous times on screen. Her first appearance was in a short story published in The Royal Magazine in December 1927, "The Tuesday Night Club", which later became the first chapter of The Thirteen Problems (1932). Her first appearance in a full-length novel was in The Murder at the Vicarage in 1930, and her last appearance was in Sleeping Murder in 1976.

<i>The Mousetrap</i> Murder mystery play by Agatha Christie

The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. It then re-opened on 17 May 2021. The longest-running West End show, it has by far the longest run of any play in the world, with its 29,500th performance having taken place as of 11th Feb 2024. Attendees at St Martin's Theatre often get their photo taken beside the wooden counter in the theatre foyer. As of 2022 the play has been seen by 10 million people in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Oyelowo</span> British actor (born 1976)

David Oyetokunbo Akanji Animamuma Chukwudi Oyelowo is a British actor, director, and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award. In 2016, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.

<i>The Real Inspector Hound</i> One-act play written by Tom Stoppard

The Real Inspector Hound is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit. By chance, they become involved in the action causing a series of events that parallel the play they are watching.

<i>Towards Zero</i> 1944 novel by Agatha Christie

Towards Zero is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in June 1944, and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in July of the same year. The first US edition of the novel retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).

<i>And Then There Were None</i> (1974 film) 1974 film

And Then There Were None is a 1974 mystery film and an adaptation of Agatha Christie's best-selling 1939 mystery novel of the same name. The film was directed by Peter Collinson and produced by Harry Alan Towers. This was the second of three versions of Christie's novel to be adapted to the screen by producer Harry Alan Towers. Two film adaptations were previously released. An American made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959. Towers produced a third version in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Sim</span> English actress (1922–2016)

Sheila Beryl Grant Sim, Baroness Attenborough was an English film and theatre actress. She was also the wife of the actor, director and peer Richard Attenborough.

<i>Murder Ahoy!</i> 1964 film by George Pollock

Murder Ahoy! is the last of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that starred Margaret Rutherford. As in the previous three, Murder, She Said (1961), Murder at the Gallop (1963), Murder Most Foul (1964), the actress plays Agatha Christie's amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple, with Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as (Chief) Inspector Craddock and Stringer Davis playing Mr. Stringer.

<i>Witness for the Prosecution</i> (play) 1953 play by Agatha Christie

Witness for the Prosecution is a play adapted by Agatha Christie from her 1925 short story "Traitor's Hands". The play opened in London on 28 October 1953 at the Winter Garden Theatre. It was produced by Sir Peter Saunders.

Sir Peter Saunders was an English theatre impresario, notable for his production of the long-running Agatha Christie murder mystery, The Mousetrap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saoirse Ronan</span> American-born Irish actress (born 1994)

Saoirse Una Ronan is an American-born Irish actress. Primarily known for her work in period dramas since adolescence, she has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards and five British Academy Film Awards.

<i>Three Blind Mice</i> (radio play and short story) 1947 play by Agatha Christie

Three Blind Mice is the name of a half-hour radio play written by Agatha Christie, which was later adapted into a television film, a short story, and a popular stage production.

The Hollow is a 1951 play by crime writer Agatha Christie. It is based on the 1946 book of the same name.

The Agatha Christie short story collection Partners in Crime was adapted as a 13-part radio serial broadcast on the BBC's London, Midland and Scottish Home Service and transmitted from Monday, April 13 to Monday, July 13, 1953. The half-hour episodes starred Richard Attenborough as Tommy and Sheila Sim as Tuppence, taking advantage of the actors' then-current starring roles in The Mousetrap. Oscar Quitak appeared in all episodes as Albert. Aside from a 1948 adaptation of Ten Little Niggers, this was the first adaptation of a Christie book for radio in the UK.

<i>And Then There Were None</i> 1939 mystery novel by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939, as Ten Little Niggers, after an 1869 minstrel song that serves as a major plot element. The US edition was released in January 1940 with the title And Then There Were None, taken from the last five words of the song. Successive American reprints and adaptations use that title, though American Pocket Books paperbacks used the title Ten Little Indians between 1964 and 1986. UK editions continued to use the original title until 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agatha Christie bibliography</span>

Agatha Christie (1890–1976) was an English crime novelist, short-story writer and playwright. Her reputation rests on 66 detective novels and 15 short-story collections that have sold over two billion copies, an amount surpassed only by the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. She is also the most translated individual author in the world with her books having been translated into more than 100 languages. Her works contain several regular characters with whom the public became familiar, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Parker Pyne and Harley Quin. Christie wrote more Poirot stories than any of the others, even though she thought the character to be "rather insufferable". Following the publication of the 1975 novel Curtain, Poirot's obituary appeared on the front page of The New York Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Attenborough</span> British actor (1923–2014)

Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, was an English actor, film director, and producer.

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Tom George is a British director of film and television. He is known for his feature directorial debut, See How They Run (2022), which was nominated for Outstanding British Film at the 76th British Academy Film Awards.

References

  1. ↑ Kroll, Justin (20 November 2020). "Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell And David Oyelowo To Star In Untitled Murder Mystery For Searchlight". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  2. ↑ Kanter, Jake (15 April 2021). "'Inside No. 9' Star Reece Shearsmith Joins Ruth Wilson, Saoirse Ronan In Untitled Searchlight Murder Mystery". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (29 July 2021). "Star-Studded Searchlight Murder Mystery 'See How They Run' Reveals Full Cast, First Look Image". Variety . Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Searchlight Pictures UK [@SearchlightUK] (9 August 2022). "Potential suspects...or potential victims? One month until See How They Run hits cinemas.🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 September 2022– via Twitter.
  5. ↑ "See How They Run". British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (6 July 2022). "Searchlight's See How They Run Going Earlier In September – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "See How They Run DVD Release Date". www.dvdsreleasedates.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "See How They Run". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved 24 July 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  9. ↑ "See How They Run | Domestic Weekly". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  10. ↑ Gruenwedel, Erik (9 November 2022). "JustWatch: Original 'Halloween', 'House of the Dragon' Top Weekly Streaming Through Nov. 6". Media Play News. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Gruenwedel, Erik (16 November 2022). "JustWatch: 'Don't Worry Darling', 'The Crown' Top Weekly Streaming Through Nov. 13". Media Play News. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "See How They Run". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 23 July 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  13. ↑ "See How They Run". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Bugbee, Teo (15 September 2022). "'See How They Run' Review: An Agatha Christie Mystery Spoof" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Minow, Nell (16 September 2022). "See How They Run". RogerEbert.com . Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
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