Illustrating Tom George’s adaptability, the director behind the loveably scruffy mockumentary series This Country takes an unexpected turn with this star-studded, 1950s-set, very handsome mystery comedy. Sharply scripted by Flaked creator Mark Chappell, George’s first feature is a spry and sometimes hilarious look at showbiz backstabbers.

‘It’s a whodunnit. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,’ muses Adrien Brody’s deceased filmmaker, Leo Köpernick, who kicks things off narrating from the grave à la Sunset Boulevard. He’s talking about Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, a play he was all set to shape into an absurdly action-packed movie before his grisly demise backstage at the Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End. Sam Rockwell’s jaded Inspector Stoppard and enthusiastic newbie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) are tasked with sniffing out the culprit.

The suspects are a suitably shifty bunch, who include theatrical impresario Petula Spencer (Ruth Wilson), screenwriter Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo), film producer John Woolf (Reece Shearsmith) and Dickie Attenborough himself (scene-stealing work from rising star Harris Dickinson, having a ball with Attenborough’s distinctive accent). Fans of the aforementioned This Country will be delighted by appearances from Paul Chahidi and Charlie Cooper.

If there are wall-to-wall game turns from the notably classy cast, the film’s most valued performer is undoubtedly Ronan, whose largely unheralded gift for comedy has already been exploited by directors Wes Anderson and Greta Gerwig. Forever jumping to conclusions, her keen-as-mustard copper forms an endearing double act with an understated, quietly sozzled Rockwell.

See How They Run is exuberantly knowing, briskly paced and light as a feather but, though it clearly aspires to being Anderson-esque (not least in the often impressive production design), it lacks the comedic richness and sheer wealth of details associated with him. It might also have been better suited to a Christmas release, a feeling that’s particularly pronounced during the snow-covered climax. Yet it feels churlish to quibble about something so nicely judged and consistently entertaining. It’s a film that doesn’t take itself seriously for a second and is all the better for it.

See How They Run is in cinemas from Friday 9 September.