The Lodger Page #5

Synopsis: The tale of a serial killer in West Hollywood has two converging plot lines. The first involves an uneasy relationship between a psychologically unstable landlady and her enigmatic lodger; the second is about a troubled detective engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the elusive killer, who is imitating the crimes of Jack the Ripper.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Director(s): David Ondaatje
Production: Samuel Goldwyn Films/IDP
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
5.8
Metacritic:
17
Rotten Tomatoes:
21%
R
Year:
2009
95 min
Website
276 Views


And then, we'll be able

to predict his behavior.

So, digging through some obscure

Ripper sites is just good research.

That's exactly what I thought,

but then I also found Manning's footprint

in registries of some of the smaller,

more intensively violent sites,

where he had logged in using an alias.

Anyway, the weird thing is,

it turns out that Manning has been

a regular on a couple of these sites

since early '97.

That is about 18 months

before the first two murders.

The ones Rodriguez was framed for.

And that means that Manning has been

into this Ripper sh*t for years!

Yeah, but that doesn't make any sense.

Why wouldn't he have said anything?

Because he's a f***ing lunatic, that's why!

We believe Manning constructed

the case against Rodriguez,

framing him for the first two murders

seven years ago.

We believe now that he's setting up

someone else to take the fall all over again.

We've done some digging into

Manning's past. He fits the profile exactly.

What profile? The lonely burned-out cop

with marital problems?

No, this is textbook.

In and out of foster homes as a kid,

troubled family life, suicidal wife,

depression, it's all there.

You just described half of L.A.,

for Christ's sake!

Look, there's not a chance in hell

Manning killed anyone.

If you are too close, Detective,

you need to tell me now.

What are we doing here?

I don't want Smith

seeing us meet with Lester.

Interesting.

Relax. He said 4:00. Give him a few minutes.

Look. Tell me, why did you want us

to assemble a file on Jack the Ripper

- if you know so much about him yourself?

- No, the file was for you.

The Tumblety case is interesting.

No one really knew he was a suspect

until about 10 years ago,

when a letter written

by a Scotland Yard Chief Inspector,

John Littlechild,

was discovered by a journalist,

when sealed documents were released

under the British Freedom

of Information Act.

He was an American

who lived in England for a short time,

his arrival in London neatly coinciding

with when the murders started

and his departure with

when they suddenly stopped.

The Tumblety theory holds

that no one knew he was a suspect

because certain members

of the police kept it quiet

and avoided releasing

any information on him

for fear he might flee,

which, of course, he did in the end anyway.

And how do the facts here point to him?

Well, they don't, really, except for

what your witness said about a black bag.

I remember reading somewhere

that Tumblety left behind a black bag.

At least, I think it was Tumblety.

I'll have to check my notes.

Yeah, so what have we got here?

Klosowski, the medical student,

Isenschmidt, the butcher,

Tumblety, the American. Which one is it?

Well, if you want one,

my guess is Isenschmidt, the butcher.

But I'd be careful about the obvious.

There's a reason

the Ripper was never caught.

And I doubt your killer is leaving behind

any clues he doesn't want to.

How long you been a Ripper expert?

A long time.

Why do you ask?

Jack the Ripper was

the personification of evil.

No motive, flauntingly violent, never caught.

Lago with a knife.

A f***ing shadow lurking

in the darkest corner of the human mind.

How long?

He's the reason the police even exist.

Anyway, enough of the 20 questions.

Look, if we're gonna cover

all the names on this list,

we need to split up.

Why don't you drop me off?

No, no, no, no.

Let's just stay together, okay?

It's not that many names,

and besides, you're on suspension.

That's touching.

Sure, why not? Let's stick together.

Like Smith and Jones.

Thank you, ma'am.

Dead's a good alibi. Who's next?

All right, next. Joe Bunting.

Another one of those at the gym on Sunset

the night of the double murders.

Might explain the black bag.

Lives on 129 Whitechapel Street.

It's a pretty thin connection,

but Whitechapel is the 1.5 square mile area

on the East End of London

where all the Ripper murders took place.

It also happens to be

exactly the same size as West Hollywood.

- Mrs. Bunting?

- Yes?

Hi, I'm Detective Wilkenson, and this is...

I recognize you.

We'd like to come in

and ask a few questions

if you and your husband are available.

Well, he's not here,

and I just got my son down for a nap,

so Joe will be back later, in the morning,

if you'd like to come back then.

Ma'am, we won't be more

than a few minutes. Please.

Usually he gets off around 1:00,

but he doesn't always come straight home.

It would be helpful

if we could speak with him tonight.

Where is he?

He sometimes goes to the gym first,

with Bill.

They work together,

and it's near their building.

But it's too late.

They're probably at work by now.

What's the address?

19000 Sunset near Doheny.

He's a security guard.

- They both are.

- What's back there?

That's just an extra room where we store

some of my husband's old things.

- Anybody staying there?

- No.

Mind if we take a look?

No.

- Whose are these?

- Those are my husband's.

Well, thank you, Mrs. Bunting.

I'm sorry we troubled you.

Okay.

She's hiding something.

You notice the way she wouldn't look at us

when we went into the guest house?

Maybe she kicked her husband

out of the house.

Get a search warrant from Rollins.

I want to take a good look back there.

They're not gonna find anything.

They're not gonna find anything.

Were you and Bunting working last week,

the nights of March 14 and 17?

I don't know. Maybe.

What's all this?

You finish with him. I'll call you in an hour.

Where are you going?

Annie Chapman.

Same incisions.

Same body position, same everything.

And her uterus is missing.

Where have you been?

What's that supposed to mean?

You didn't go home, did you?

Most people with a bottle of red ink

would have it hidden away these days,

don't you think?

I don't know what you mean.

Come now, Ellen.

You must have read the papers.

- No, I...

- You can't just come in here

and start snooping around.

I wasn't. I wasn't.

I was just trying to clean behind the cabinet,

it must have tipped over.

No one will know.

Ellen, please.

I shouldn't have raised my voice, I'm sorry.

- No, no.

- I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have raised my voice.

Sh*t, man, don't do that!

I might have shot you.

Yeah, right. You're gonna have to

learn how to shoot first.

Where you been? The cops were here.

What'd you tell them?

Take it easy. Nothing.

They just asked about Ellen, what

we did last week, a bunch of stupid sh*t.

That's it?

They didn't ask about anything else?

Like what?

- It's gotta be here somewhere.

- Captain!

It looks like we found something.

Got him.

Call me the minute he shows up.

Sh*t!

You're leaving.

Tumblety.

Please.

No one has to know.

I'll do anything.

Hello?

I'm looking for Street Wilkenson. Is this...

Hey, Cat. It's okay, baby. I got it.

- Hi.

- Hi. Who's that?

- My wife.

- Your wife?

She's really been looking forward

to meeting you.

Here's me thinking I was being

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David Ondaatje

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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