The Lodger (2009 film)

The Lodger is a 2009 American mystery thriller film directed by David Ondaatje and written by Ondaatje and David Beckham. It is based on the 1913 novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes and marks the fifth cinematic adaptation of the work, following earlier versions directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1927), Maurice Elvey (1932), John Brahm (1944), and Hugo Fregonese (1953, as Man in the Attic). The film stars Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, and Simon Baker. The narrative follows a Los Angeles detective investigating a series of murders that resemble the historical crimes of Jack the Ripper, while a secondary plot centers on a landlady who begins to suspect her enigmatic tenant may be involved.

The Lodger
Directed by	David Ondaatje
Written by	David Ondaatje
Based on	The Lodger 1913 novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes
Produced by	David Ondaatje Michael Mailer
Starring	Alfred Molina Rachael Leigh Cook Hope Davis Simon Baker
Cinematography	David A. Armstrong
Edited by	William Flicker
Music by	John Frizzell
Production company	Stage 6 Films[1]
Distributed by	Samuel Goldwyn Films[1]
Release date	January 23, 2009 (2009-01-23)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The film was released theatrically in the United States on January 23, 2009, by Stage 6 Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films. It received generally negative reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office, grossing an estimated $3.5 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $10 million.

Synopsis

Set in contemporary Los Angeles, The Lodger follows two parallel storylines connected by a series of brutal murders mimicking the historical Jack the Ripper killings. One narrative centers on a troubled detective investigating the case while dealing with personal and professional turmoil. As the body count rises, the detective becomes increasingly entangled in a psychological game with the unknown killer.

The second storyline follows a mentally unstable landlady who rents a room to a mysterious and reclusive lodger. As the murders continue, she begins to suspect her tenant may be involved. Her growing obsession and fragile emotional state raise questions about whether her fears are valid or the product of her own mental decline.^[2][3]

Plot

In Los Angeles, a series of brutal murders begins with the killing of a prostitute on Sunset Boulevard. Detective Chandler Manning and his partner, Street Wilkenson, initially consider the case an isolated incident. When a second prostitute is found dead, the medical examiner observes that the crimes mirror two unsolved murders from seven years earlier and are identical to the first two Jack the Ripper in 1888 London. Manning, who led the earlier investigation and secured a conviction, begins to question whether the wrong person was executed.

Elsewhere, Ellen Bunting and her husband, Joe, prepare to rent out their guesthouse. A man unexpectedly arrives and agrees to take the room, identifying himself as a writer who requires solitude. Ellen, emotionally unstable and reliant on medication, becomes increasingly attached to the tenant. Joe remains skeptical, as he never sees the lodger enter or leave and is aware of Ellen’s history of hallucinations.

The killings continue, and a witness reports seeing a man in a black coat carrying a bag at the scene of the latest crime. Manning, drawing from his knowledge of the original Ripper case, locates a pair of bloody undergarments in a trash can near the crime scene. Wilkenson grows suspicious of Manning’s behavior, especially when he retrieves old evidence from the previous case and threatens a colleague in the evidence room. Manning is placed on suspension due to concerns about his conduct and deteriorating personal life, including the recent suicide attempt of his wife and estrangement from his daughter.

Ellen intensifies her interactions with the lodger. She observes muddy boots drying on newspaper and later sees a photograph of a crime scene footprint that appears to match. She compares the boot to the image but does not report her discovery. Joe becomes increasingly frustrated and insists on entering the guesthouse to confirm whether it is occupied. When he and Ellen open the door, no one is inside.

The investigation leads the police to the Bunting residence. Ellen behaves evasively, and Manning obtains a warrant to search the guesthouse. Maps marked with red ink are found in a cabinet. Wilkenson and the precinct captain suspect Manning of planting the evidence and place him under arrest. Meanwhile, Joe is reported missing from work after officers arrive to question him.

Amanda, Manning’s daughter, leaves her dorm and is followed by a man in a long coat. A new mark on a map found earlier aligns with her location, prompting Manning to convince Wilkenson to release him. Amanda is attacked while walking to a local venue. Police arrive as the attacker closes in. Manning chases the suspect to the Bunting home, where officers find Ellen seated in a rocking chair with a knife. Joe is discovered upstairs, seriously wounded.

A psychological assessment concludes that Ellen, traumatized by the death of her child eight years earlier, developed schizophrenia. The investigation attributes the murders to her, identifying the lodger as a delusion based on a fictionalized version of the son she lost. Authorities accept this explanation and close the case. The final image depicts a man resembling the lodger arriving at a new boarding house in Santa Monica.

Cast

Storyline 1:

• Alfred Molina as Chandler Manning, the troubled detective^[2][3]
• Rachael Leigh Cook as Amanda Manning, his estranged daughter^[2]
• Mel Harris as Margaret Manning, his suicidally depressed wife^[2]
• Shane West as 'Street' Wilkenson, his rookie partner^[2]
• Philip Baker Hall as the Police Chief
• Rebecca Pidgeon as Dr. Jessica Westmin, an FBI profiler assisting with the case
• Lancer Dean Shull as the Internal Affairs Officer who suspends Chandler Manning from his duties.

Storyline 2:

• Hope Davis as Ellen Bunting, the emotionally disturbed landlady^[2][3]
• Donal Logue as Joe Bunting, her easily angered husband^[2]
• Simon Baker as Malcolm Slaight, the mysterious stranger who becomes their "lodger"^[2]

Release

The Lodger premiered in limited theatrical release on January 23, 2009, in New York City and Los Angeles.^[4] It was subsequently released on DVD in the United States on February 10, 2009.^[4]

Reception

Box office

The Lodger was released in limited theaters and had a modest box office performance. The film grossed approximately $3.5 million worldwide against a production budget of around $10 million.

Critical response

The Lodger received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 21% based on 24 reviews, with the consensus stating, “An accomplished cast can't save a derivative suspense flick that manages to confuse and bore rather than thrill.”^[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 17 out of 100, based on 8 reviews, indicating “overwhelming dislike.”^[6]

Writing for Variety, John Anderson noted, "The Lodger seems intended to leave its audience as baffled as the London police were in 1888. Never mind that it rains constantly along Ondaatje’s Sunset Strip, or that the melodrama arrives like a monsoon. What needed to be a taut, structurally sound psycho-thriller instead malfunctions from the start."^[7] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News criticized the film as “a B movie" filled with “second-rate Brian De Palma twists” and “solid actors mouthing potboiler brine.”^[8] Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film “doesn’t work as homage or update” and lacks the stylistic impact or narrative drive of the serial killer procedurals it emulates.^[9] In Time Out, Ben Walters described the film as “a travesty,” particularly for its failed attempt to echo Alfred Hitchcock's 1927 adaptation of the same novel.^[10]