The Limehouse Golem

I wanted to love this. And I feel like I should have. But I didn't. I was interested in it enough to see it all the way through the end to find out the conclusion of the central mystery. Why was it just okay? I'm not sure. The performances were strong, and the period sets and costumes were amazing, but I would find my mind drifting throughout it, a lot. Too much. So I can only chalk it up to the script and the directing. The shots themselves in the movie were good. It looked beautiful.

But for whatever reason, I was never fully pulled in. And I think this was in large part because the crimes of the Limehouse Golem were all told as flashbacks essentially, there was no real suspense, except for one scene near the very end that I won't spoil. So yeah, ultimately I think the storytelling structure diminished the sense of suspense that should have been present in the story. The movie is also pretty violent/gory in those flashbacks, btw. That neither raised nor lowered my overall score of it, but it was violent enough that it's worth noting.

A mash up of Se7en and The Elephant Man, this one is stylish but over long and relentlessly grim.

With a nod to the Jack the Ripper murders this one is set in London's underclass Limehouse, where Inspector under a cloud Nighy arrives to investigate the succession of "Golem" slasher murders. Suspects include comedian Dan Leno and a bushy bearded Karl Marx. Nighy's investigation gets involved with hard working actress wife Olivia Cooke's trial for poisoning her husband.

Alternating between the British Museum and Leno's tacky music hall attention shifts to Cooke's back story with lots of oppression of women, class warfare, homoerotic suspicions, opium dens and politicking at the Yard.

Cast and design are superior but this one is not a fun outing.

Period mysteries set in 19th century London are rather frequent. The era of Sherlock Holmes, "Jack the Ripper" and a plethora of unsolved crimes. Its own gothicism remains an attractive aesthetic quality that has managed to create its own niche. For the most part, this mystery remains captivating, although extensively formulaic. An inspector is tasked with investigating "The Limehouse Golem" whilst simultaneously proving the innocence of a widow accused of murdering her husband. What really worked was the atmosphere. Gloomy, dark and ominous, 19th Century London has never looked so authentically dirty. The contrast of the blackened urban streets to the flamboyant music hall ensures that two tones were nested within the production. Cree's backstory and the inspector's investigation may initially look like separate stories, but as with all these mysteries, slowly start intertwining. The major issue with this, is that the plot is overcooked. Various culprits are accused, investigated and dismissed, however the plot's focus constantly shifts between the two stories mentioned above that you start to question what the main mystery actually is. Is it her innocence? Or the serial killer? The narrative tries to express the importance of both, but this ultimately fails due to the lack of focus and ludicrous amount of explanation, culminating to an underwhelming twist. To be fair, I guessed incorrectly, but I should've known! Fortunately a cast of fresh faces and experienced actors convey a methodical script that felt reminiscent to an Arthur Conan Doyle novel. Plenty of flair and finesse within each line, plus Nighy is a national treasure. Each murder that takes place is soaked in blood and brutality, more so than I expected! The question this film does raise is the pronunciation of "golem". I've always thought to it to be "gol-lum", not "go-lem"? Anyway, I digress. A murder mystery relishing in its own classicism, but lacking the focus to elevate it above the rest.

Well crafted movie with a beautiful cast, good aesthetics and some nicely twisted elements made for a enjoyable watch even tho from my point of view, the ending is quite predictable from the very start. It was rather obvious the destination, yet the journey remained suspenseful and filled with little hidden gems here and there.

Bill Nighy is one great actor, I'm sadden by the fact that he didn't manage to make a bigger splash earlier, but even now, his presence on the screen brings so much force, so much seriosity, that you take everything in deeper and leaves behind quite an impact with every line he says. He was perfectly cast here, as the other actors too, a diversity and character development that I loved from the very start.

Of course I will recommend this movie, but bare in mind, there is close to no horror here, you will find no such thing, but only the horror of man. What man is capable of, his hideous crimes, selfishness, but has nothing to do with jump scares or tension.

Cheers!

The Limehouse Golem is a hugely atmospheric, gothic murder mystery. It is visually stunning, blood thirsty and enthralling. I enjoyed from start to finish, even if I couldn't always follow the plot at times. This is a film I think I will enjoy much more on subsequent viewings as I'll be able to take more in, and discover the small details I missed first time round. Stunning sets, glorious costumes, it really is a visual treat, they managed to capture the spirit of the Ripper's London. It felt like a film version of Ripper Street meets Sherlock. Fabulous performances, Billy Nighy, Olivia Cooke and Sam Reid all excellent, but the star of the show had to be Douglas Booth, who was simply tremendous.

Deserving of a higher rating here, and a higher status, this is a quality film. 7/10