It’s funny how we often see mini-similarities in two movies that just happen to be opening at the same time, as is the case this week with “Confess, Fletch” and “See How They Run.” The former is a light and breezy murder mystery featuring a world-weary veteran detective (Roy Wood Jr.) who is forever rolling his eyes at his naive, eager and green trainee partner (Ayden Mayeri), but don’t count out that rookie’s potential. And the latter is also a light and breezy murder-mystery featuring a world-weary veteran detective (Sam Rockwell) who is forever rolling his eyes at his naive, eager and green trainee partner (Saoirse Ronan) — but don’t count out that rookie’s potential!
The difference is that while Wood and Mayeri have supporting roles in “Fletch,” Rockwell and Ronan are the leads in “See How They Run,” director Tom George’s movie-within-a-play homage to the works of Agatha Christie. This is yet another meta story with the characters commenting on the story as it goes along, and while that gimmick is becoming tiresome, this is solidly constructed piece of lightweight entertainment with terrific period-piece costumes and sets, and suitably theatrical performances from a talented cast that is clearly enjoying itself while delivering a quality spoof.
