On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 135/169 |
Max Braden |
Wow, this movie is full of actors who make you say It's that guy! Worth a look for fans of Jack the Ripper lore, but otherwise a slow thriller. |
In 1927, Alfred Hitchcock created a silent thriller known as The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. (It was also occasionally known as The Case of Jonathan Drew). It was one of Hitchcock's earliest films, and follows a woman who believes that her new tenant might be the man responsible for killing women in London.
The movie was based on a novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, which would also spawn more theatrical adaptations in 1932, 1944 and 1953 (starring Jack Palance). Belloc Lowndes' tale was based around the Jack the Ripper murders, but taken to a new environment with a new twist.
Eighty years after Hitchcock's first Lodger film, we have a new version of The Lodger, though it's unlikely that it's truly based on Hitchcock's vision. Instead, it appears that writer/director David Ondaatje (nephew of acclaimed novelist Michael Ondaatje) has taken the story and moved it to the 21st century.
Alfred Molina portrays a detective who is investigating some grisly murders. While this mystery unfolds, a woman played by Hope Davis takes on a new lodger (The Mentalist's Simon Baker). She soon comes to suspect that he might be responsible for the murders - but her reaction might not be entirely what you would suspect.
The Lodger will receive a limited release from Samuel Goldwyn Pictures, and frankly, the previews do little to distinguish it. However, with such excellent actors as Molina and Davis at the forefront, there is certainly reason to hope it might be a quality production. It's not likely to make any sort of splash at the box office, but it might be one that people will pick up on DVD once it's released in that format. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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