The Lodger

The Lodger is a 2009 mystery/thriller film directed by David Ondaatje and starring Alfred Molina, Hope Davis and Simon Baker. It is based on the 1913 novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes, filmed previously by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927, by Maurice Elvey in 1932, by John Brahm in 1944, and as Man in the Attic (1953) directed by Hugo Fregonese. Synopsis The film follows two parallel stories, one being about a troubled detective (Molina) who plays a cat-and-mouse game with an unknown killer and the other being about an emotionally disturbed landlady and her relationship with an enigmatic "lodger" (Simon Baker). Plot The story opens with a brutal murder of a prostitute taking place on Sunset Boulevard, in Hollywood. The detective in charge is Chandler Manning and his rookie assistant is Street Wilkenson. They initially believe this is a stand-alone murder, but when a second prostitute is killed, the medical examiner says the two murders are not only eerily similar to two murders that took place 7 years prior, but they are exact copies of the first two Jack the Ripper murders in 1888 London. Since Detective Manning had caught who he thought was the murderer of the previous crimes, they now realize the wrong person was tried, prosecuted and executed. Manning is also dealing with a wife who tried to commit suicide, and his estranged daughter, Amanda, who blames him for the attempt.