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They say not to let great be the enemy of good. I have always been baffled when somebody expresses disappointment in a movie only been good, or even pretty good. Sure, you were excited and may have had high expectations, but why be unhappy simply because your expectations weren’t met? If you enjoyed yourself, you enjoyed yourself! And on that note, See How They Run is a solid movie.
Now, I when I heard that Saoirse Ronan and Sam Rockwell were starring in a film together, I was intrigued. When I heard it was a comedy mystery movie, I was decidedly enthused. Then, I saw the first trailer and…it produced something akin to apathy for me. The film didn’t look particularly good, but also not all that bad. It definitely seemed slight, though. However, I then readjusted my expectations for a slight, hopefully fun murder mystery. Basically, I decided to wait to watch it at home instead of going to see it in a theater.
That is indeed what I did, and in that context, See How They Run delivered. It is indeed slight. I don’t think I have ever seen Ronan in a slighter film (Rockwell is a working actor, so he’s done all sort of stuff running the gamut of quality). It was a fun murder mystery, though. Rockwell plays an inspector in 1950s London, while Ronan plays a plucky Constable. An American director is murdered after the 100th performance of Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap. They have to figure out who. A murder mystery set around a whodunit film? That’s pretty fun, though See How They Run hammers the meta stuff home a little too much. This gets sweaty, and sometimes the film is frankly dismissive of itself.
All that said, this is a reasonably-constructed story with a few good jokes in it. Rockwell and Ronan are both great actors, so they can lift the material. Basically, See How They Run plays like an elevated procedural. So if you like that sort of show, you can enjoy this film. It’s pretty good, and that’s regardless of whatever your expectations might be.
