Directed by: Tom George
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Rhys Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson, David Oyelowo, Shirley Henderson
Origin and production: USA / DJ Films, TSG Entertainment.
Duration: 98 minutes
In 1950s London’s West End, plans for a film adaptation of a successful play are abruptly cut short after the murder of a key member of the troupe.
“The style and some of the actors are reminiscent of Hotel Grand Budapest Wes Anderson, the plot refers to the works of Agatha Christie, and the style is classic yellow, like in ancient times. The mixture is explosive. Murder in the West End it is a product of superlative craftsmanship and a group of actors working to perfection. Some directorial decisions (not to mention the fact that this is Tom George’s debut in the world of feature films) are taken to the extreme. Interesting are the reconstructions of some real-life characters, for example, Agatha Christie herself or the actor Richard Attenborough, inserted into the context of a completely invented plot.
Thus the film is fictional, but in fact its screenplay is based on a game of cross-references with a novel by a British writer Mousetrap. The story is actually based on a real-life murder, more specifically a couple of murders that took place in a London West End theater in the 1950s. All this, it would seem, is extremely connected with the staging of the theatrical adaptation of Christie’s work. also in Murder in the West End Cinema itself also comes into play as, given the success of the show, some film producers and directors are starting to get interested in the subject in order to be able to bring it to the big screen. As the story unfolds, the boundary between reality and literary fantasy merges, and an amusing play of cross-references is created between the theatrical work and the fictional cinematic plot, in a work that blends literature, theater and cinema in perfect balance.
The film opens with the murder of the eccentric American director Leo Koepernick (the excellent Adrien Brody), whose voice-over introduces the viewer into the complex world of the film and almost like Robert De Niro in Casino Scorsese, soon dies. A special pair was created to conduct the investigations: on the one hand, a somewhat stereotypical character, Sam Rockwell’s Inspector Stoppard, wrinkled, alcoholic and with a dramatic history behind him, on the other, a young and talkative young woman new to the police force. the role of Saoirse Ronan. And it is Agent Stalker, perhaps, who represents the real strength of the film, with his clumsy gags and inexperience, he captures the viewer and draws him into the story, actually read through his eyes. A well-written and well-acted role is simply adapted to its performer and advertises. Murder in the West End right energy.
Veronica Orciari, wild trails