In the West End of 1950s London, Agatha Christie’s play “The Mousetrap” celebrates its 100th performance. Plans for a movie adaptation are already underway but come to an abrupt halt after the director (Adrien Brody) is murdered backstage. World-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) gets teamed up with eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) to take on the case. Soon the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit (from “who done it?” – genre word for murder mysteries) within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

Rockwell and Ronan give a well-timed comedic duo we didn’t know we needed. The production and image design and the fun the entire cast and crew had while filming make for an easy, charming, and fun watch. The screenplay provides puns on every occasion possible, along with a sheer endless amount of references to the entire whodunit genre but still avoids that you grow weary of them. Murder-mystery fans, be aware that this film takes the genre for a ride but it’s a fun ride that honours it deeply at the same time.