Jericho Mansions

Synopsis

'Me? Take it easy now, calm down. It couldn't be me, it couldn't be me! I mean if you don't know yourself who do you know? But the blood - It seemed crazy but how else could I be sure? So I set the camera up, tied myself to the bed and lay there, waiting - Guess I must have nodded off somehow, 'cos the next thing I know it's morning and I'm there just where I left myself. No problem, I'm telling myself, no problem - Then I played the tape. I just couldn't take it in. Me, a fuzzy black and white image in pyjamas, getting out of bed, leaving the room.'

Leonard Grey, superintendent of Jericho Mansions. His world may be small but he cares for every inch of it. The fading wallpaper in the entrance hall, the ageing carpet on the stairs, the clank of the elevator and above all, the faint but continuous refrain of lives being lived around him - For the last thirty years the building has been his universe. Beyond the front door of the apartment block lies a terrifying agoraphobic nightmare into which, for as long as he can remember, he has never dared to venture.

But Leonard's sanctuary is beginning to crumble; forces are conspiring to kick him out. Constant accusations by Lily Melnik, the landlady, of stealing worthless items from her apartment, stirrings of discontent among the residents, infidelities and finally a murder.

Bill Cherry, one of the building's inhabitants is found dead, his body thrown down the garbage chute. Though the cops believe they have their killer and motive - a jealous tenant taking revenge on his wife's lover - Leonard begins to discover clues that point to a different kind of killer. Himself.

Details

Year

2003

Type of film

Features

Running Time

tbc

Format

35mm

Director

Alberto Sciamma

Producer

Kate Robbins, Tom Philpott

Editor

Yves Langlois

Screenwriter

Alberto Sciamma, Harriet Sand

Director of Photography

Alastair Meux

Sound

Melanie Johnson

Principal Cast

James Caan, Genevieve Bujold, Jennifer Tilly, Maribel Verdu

Genre

• Drama

Production status

Complete

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Last updated 26th November 2005