See How They Run (12A)
Directed by Tom George
★★★★

SET in London’s West End in 1953, this whodunnit-within-a-whodunnit thriller featuring an all-star cast is a joyous, slick and stylishly clever romp and an impressive directorial debut feature by Tom George.

It centres on plans to make a film version of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap — helmed by arrogant American director Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody), who has been blacklisted by Hollywood for being a communist — which are thwarted when he comes a cropper during the play’s 100th performance party.

The jaded Scotland Yard detective Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell with a dubious British accent) and an annoyingly enthusiastic newbie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan, who steals the film) are called in to investigate.

Everyone’s a suspect including the show’s star performers Dickie Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) and his wife Sheila Sim (Pearl Chanda), whose real life counterparts starred in the first run of the smash-hit play.

With a sparkling razor-sharp witty script by Mark Chappell, brought to life by stunning performances, George delivers a fun and deliciously smart murder mystery about The Mousetrap without breaking Agatha Christie’s contract clause which states there can be no film adaptation until six months after its theatrical run ends.

Since it is still running after almost 70 years, this film is genius.

In cinemas

Both Sides of the Blade (15)
Directed by Claire Denis
★★★

FRENCH writer-director Claire Denis returns to what she does best in exploring the fragile connections and relationships between people in this love-triangle tale about a woman caught between two men.

Based on the novel by Christine Angot, it follows Sara (Juliette Binoche), who has spent around nine happy years with her long-time partner Jean (Vincent Lindon), until her ex-lover Francois (Gregoire Colin) suddenly enters her life again, completely upending it.

The kicker: she left Francois in the first place for Jean, his best friend, and now Francois is offering Jean, a jobless ex-con (it isn’t clear what his crime was), much needed work.

In the meantime, Sara is a very needy and insecure person who requires constant reassurance from Jean, who adores her, on the emotional love front.

It is hard to fathom why her head would be turned by Francois, or to have sympathy for her. What lifts this French love triangle is the intimate and pitch-perfect performances by Binoche and Lindon, who are sublime. It is worth seeing just for them.


In cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema

The Score (15)
Directed by Malachi Smyth
★★

BE WARNED: there is singing involved in Malachi Smyth’s ambitious directorial debut feature about two small-time crooks who drive to a British roadside cafe for a big score, which doesn’t end well on the musical front.

The songs, written by Johnny Flynn, who also stars in the film, sadly do not marry well with the drama and become a major distraction, slowing down the narrative rather than enhancing it.

The film is a three-hander between Flynn (Emma) and Will Poulter (Midsommar) as the criminals and Naomi Ackie (Small Axe, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) as the cafe waitress, who captures Troy’s (Poulter) heart.

Poulter, who is just thrilling to watch ever since he burst onto the big screen in Son of Rambow, going from strength to strength, delivers once again alongside Flynn and Ackie — but every time they burst into song it kills the momentum.

It is an audacious gamble by writer-director Smyth, which he doesn’t quite pull off.

MD
In cinemas

Bodies Bodies Bodies (15)
Directed by Halina Reijn
★★

A GROUP of wealthy 20-somethings play a game that turns deadly during a hurricane party in a remote family mansion in this whodunnit horror in which you just can’t wait to see everyone bumped off.

“They’re not as nihilistic as they look on the internet, “Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) tells her new girlfriend Bee (Maria Bakalova, Borat the Subsequent Moviefilm) about her social-media-obsessed friends.

In fact they are narcissistic, backstabbing, fake, coked-up Gen Z rich kids who turn animalistic on each other when one of them is found murdered and they hunt for the killer.

Set in the one location, Sarah DeLappe’s debut screenplay, directed by Halina Reijn, features all the usual tropes for this style of horror — but not in a creative or imaginative way.

Despite the cast’s (which also includes comedian Pete Davidson and Lee Pace) sterling performances, sadly there is not one likeable character among them.

The film’s only saving grace is its surprising denouement, which speaks volumes about this Tik Tok-fixated generation.

MD
In cinemas