London, 1880. A series of gruesome murders have taken place, by a serial killer who has been nicknamed 'The Limehouse Golem'. Inspector John Kilbride has been newly assigned to the Golem case when he uncovers a potential link to a current trial: the music-hall star Elizabeth Cree stands accused of poisoning her husband John; John Cree was one of four main suspects in the Golem case. With time running out before the jury make their decision, can Kilbride uncover the identity of the killer- and possibly save Elizabeth's life?
It's a gritty, grimy, Grand Guignol tale full of direction, misdirection, and more than a few twists, ably directed by Juan Carlos Medina (Painless) and starring Bill Nighy as Kilbride and Olivia Cooke as Elizabeth Cree.
Nighy gives a wonderfully stoic, measured performance as Kilbride. A good detective who would have gone further but for rumours that he 'wasn't the marrying kind', he feels like he's being offered as a sacrificial lamb when assigned the Golem case. Yet, through his doggedness and veracity, he follows the leads wherever they go. Interestingly (and quite refreshingly), there's no real suggestion of any romantic feeling between Kilbride and Elizabeth; he simply wants to save her from the hangman's noose if it's revealed her husband was the infamous murderer and she acted to stop the Golem. The role of Kilbride was initially meant for the late Alan Rickman but Nighy's performance is superb and one of his strongest, in my opinion.
Olivia Cooke is similarly strong as Elizabeth. A young woman, abused and mistreated, trying to make something of herself and her life, falling in with the music-hall crowd then falling in love with a man who wanted to save her. It would be easy for Elizabeth to be played as a martyr or a fallen woman but there's something simultaneously fragile yet steely in Cooke's performance. It's an impressive performance and, as the film progresses and Kilbride's interviews with Elizabeth continue, there's more and more layers revealed to the character.
The rest of the cast are pretty solid too, with a lovely louche turn by Douglas Booth, seeming to channel Russell Brand as cross-dressing music-hall star Dan Leno whose care for Elizabeth is evident. But did his care for her drive him to do something dreadful? Leno is also one of the other Golem suspects, and the film makes an interesting choice by presenting each of the suspects in turn in situ as the killer as Kilbride reads the Golem's diary. Daniel Mays gives solid support as Kilbride's faithful Sergeant, George Flood, who shares an unexpectedly tender yet understated momen with his superior which is a real highlight of the film. Eddie Marsan plays 'Uncle', the music-hall manager, with a combination of avuncular care and iron fist... but even he has a secret or two.
Sam Reid's turn as the potentially murderous John Cree is an interesting one; Reid exudes an air of menace without being stereotypically evil, so you definitely get the impression that you wouldn't want to cross him. In fact, there is the suggestion that Cree may have caused a few deaths before the Golem murders begin. There's also a strong performance by Maria Valverde as Aveline, the Cree's maid but former music-hall performer, whose relationships within the household are complicated, to say the least.
The film is adapted from Peter Ackroyd's 1994 novel (with the screenplay written by Jane Goldman). Ackroyd uses real people within his book to give an air of verisimilitude, and the film does the same. Leno was a real music-hall performer and the other Golem suspects are German philosopher Karl Marx and English novelist George Gissing, so in one sequence, you get to see the oddly amusing sight of Marx sawing a prostitute's head off (now there's a sentence I never thought I'd write!) Make no mistake, the violence is strong- but because it's so stylized and over-the-top, it becomes less visceral or disturbing. The presentation of the murders feel so theatrical that they're almost difficult to take seriously.
The script and the production work hard to evoke the genuine feeling of grit and grime in the backstreets of London and the quaintly seedy nature of the music-halls. Costume and production design are top notch and really capture the spirit of those times.
It's an accomplished piece of film-making and, if you're a fan of detective stories, whodunnits, or courtroom dramas, The Limehouse Golem is one I'd heartily recommend.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Tez
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