Golem, le tueur de Londres

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.

I'd have to call this movie intriguing rather than engrossing. The story is reasonably interesting. It focuses on the investigation into a series of Jack the Ripper-style murders in Victorian London in the 1880's committed by a killer who was known as The Limestone Golem. Alongside that investigation is the story (and trial) of a young woman and music hall actress named Elizabeth (Olivia Cooke) accused of poisoning her husband. Inspector Kildare of Scotland Yard (played by Bill Nighy) is assigned to investigate the Golem murders and also becomes involved with Elizabeth's case as he begins to think that her deceased husband might have been the Golem.

What I found most intriguing about this movie was the way in which actual historical figures of the time were woven into the plot. Dan Leno (Douglas Booth) was in fact a very famous British actor of the day; George Gissing (Margan Watkins) was a British novelist of the day and Karl Marx (Henry Goodman) really did live in London at the time. Leno, Gissing and Marx all became suspects in the Golem murders. I thought the fictional story managed to incorporate them into the plot very well and very believably. The performances were good. The setting of the movie seemed authentic. There was a Victorian feel to this movie in both the sets and the dialogue, and it was interesting to get a bit of the taste of what it migt have been like behind the scenes of a London music hall of that era. All that was well done.

The story, however, seemed somewhat choppy to me. I wasn't taken with the flow of the movie; it seemed inconsistent from beginning to end. At times it also seemed as if a little bit too much effort was being put in to trying to keep the viewer guessing, but the end result (for me) was times of confusion over the story more than anything. The "twist" in the plot as the murderer was finally revealed took me by surprise (which I appreciated) but then the movie went on for a little bit too long. Once the twist was revealed I was ready for the story itself to come to an end, and I thought the last few scenes (once the identity of the Golem had been revealed) were superfluous.

It was an interesting movie, even if it was a little bit uneven. Overall, I'd say it deserves a 6/10.

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.

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

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!