See How They Run: A chat with Tom George and Charlie Cooper

See How They Run is a very fun, exceptionally executed 1950s-set comedy caper that plays with the tropes of an Agatha Christie-style “whodunit” murder mystery. Reality mirrors art as this film-about-a-film-about-a-play turns in on itself. All starts to go awry when a real murder takes place on the set of a murder mystery play in London’s West End – a play that was supposed to be turned into a film when it ended its run (a nod to the real-life fact The Mouse Trap has been playing in London for decades non-stop thereby thwarting plans for it to eventually be made into a film).

Every costume and prop is lovingly chosen and the ensemble cast seem to have had a blast playing up to their archetypal characters that nonetheless still manage to land a genuinely hard-to-guess mystery plot. Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan are a particularly delightful pairing as the world-weary misogynistic detective and zero-filter, too-eager-to-please rookie who are at the helm of solving the murder case. 

The Upcoming had the chance to chat with the film’s director ahead of the launch. Tom George shared how, although his play-within-a-film-within-a-play seems to contrast with hit series This Country, the humour injected into the whodunit shares a through-line with the wildly popular show, as well as one of its stars in Charlie Cooper. He also shared what it was like working with his dream cast, from Sam Rockwell to Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson to Ruth Wilson and Adrien Brody, plus reproducing 1950s London with quirky touches, despite shooting during the pandemic.

Charlie Cooper also shared his own thoughts on starring in the film and working with George again, how comedy is a form of art itself, and the joy of being on a meticulously curated set with such a phenomenal cast.

Sarah Bradbury

See How They Run is released nationwide on 9^th September 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for See How They Run here: