28 thoughts on “The Limehouse Golem: Victorian Theater and Gore

  1. It wouldn’t have taken much more effort to mention the name of the author of “it’s based on a novel” – the celebrated Peter Ackroyd – than the considerable time and effort spent on the “prettiness” and “look” of the film. Whoever wrote this article obviously wants to be picked up by The Spectator or Times.

    1. And it wouldn’t have taken much more effort for you to note the byline or the about the author section as well. Or notice that we review movie costumes (it’s right there in our masthead), so yeah, the look of the film is of first importance.

      1. Well, yes–he’s right that Ackroyd’s name should have been mentioned. But not right enough to express himself so rudely.

    2. Oh! clutches pearls
      The droll snobbery of people who consider their sub-genre (literary fiction) to be so superior to everybody else’s genres…
      Sounds like some self-important wanna-be literati wants to be patted on the back for “defending” the “art of the novel.”

  2. I will probably watch it, but I’m focused on Harry and Meghan’s engagement.💍👑󾓦󾓪

  3. I feel bad for the acrobat. I don’t see a chemise on her, and with a physically intense job, the corset sweat must be awful.

    1. See, I cut them slack since she was performing and maybe they WOULD skip a chemise for the sexy factor? Although that’s probably a modern take on sexy…

        1. Ever since I started reading this blog, I can’t stop noticing corsets without a chemise. I mentally start chafing just looking at the photos. SO. WRONG.

    2. Originally, she would have worn a leotard or unitard. Leotards were named after a famous nineteenth century acrobat and worn by both men and women. They were a huge part of early burlesque as well. From actual pictures (film) from roughly the same time, I think they were worn underneath the corset-based main outfit.
      You can see a bunch of images from the time here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4938664/Amazing-photos-emerge-19th-century-travelling-circus.html
      (the daily mail isn’t great, but that’s where I found the images, an archive up for auction)
      You can also see an edwardian trapeze strip tease by the strong woman Charmion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdxoZcHG9BY
      (notice that she strips off her corset, but still remains in a unitard)

        1. NP, Its a pet peeve of mine, whenever I see a nineteenth century circus/burlesque/music hall set up. I’m always wondering where the leotards are. They kept things from chafing, and allowed the performers to meet the Victorian theater standards by technically being covered from neck to toe. Insane decollete aside, skin wasn’t in during the nineteenth century.

  4. I haven’t seen this but I loved Olivia Cooke in Bates Motel and the costumes look very pretty, so I’ll definitely check it out! Also is it weird that I think Douglas Booth look 10x hotter with the worn, sickly pale look?

  5. Have not heard of this one but Victorian + Bill Nighy = worth looking for. Of course, Douglas Booth is the very definition of pretty boy (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). He is so genetically blessed I had to stop watching Great Expectations, he was far prettier than Estella.

  6. I love that you mention teeth – my dad always used to complain about how inappropriately good the teeth were in period dramas.

    I didn’t understand young Lizzie’s coat, it looked more 1890s to me but presumably should have been 70s? Otherwise I enjoyed the look of it more than the plot, which was instantly forgettable for me!

    1. That was throwing me off, too. The costuming was gorgeous, but the overall look was very 1890. The main part of the story was set in 1880. Talk about being fashion forward! But I would rather see costuming that looks very period even if it’s off by a decade than the usual “accessible” dreck that might be roughly based on the correct year.

  7. I watched this around Halloween and was surprised how good it was — the twist makes it worth a second, more careful viewing to pick up on the subtle clues, but I haven’t managed it yet. Gorgeous costumes and very atmospheric, though!

  8. This movie is very good, yet I was disturbed by the gore. Douglas Booth is handsome in his own way, I suppose, but for me the man to drool over was Sam Reid….good Lord!!!

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