Director James Mansell’s short film Leviathan paints a fascinating historical fiction tale around the 1888 Whitechapel murders in the East End of London. The main character is Arthur Conan Doyle (Rafe Bird), later of Sherlock Holmes fame. He’s conducting an autopsy of a murdered woman along with his mentor, Professor Joseph Bell (Matthew Lloyd Davies). They are joined by a young journalist and suffragette named Margaret Harkness (Lauren Cornelius), who is intent on finding the serial killer. Using a system of deduction based on seemingly trivial facts, Professor Bell, Dr. Doyle, and Ms. Harkness all contribute to the analysis of the body to draw evidence-based conclusions of how and by whom she was murdered. These three agree to form an unconventional team to work together toward the goal of solving the Whitechapel murders and stopping the killer.
Leviathan is an adaptation of a novel called A Knife in the Fog, written by Bradley Harper, who also wrote the screenplay. Doyle is a real historical figure, of course, whom we know as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Professor Bell was also an actual person, whose deductive insights enthralled his student, Doyle, and inspired him to create Holmes. Famously, Holmes invokes the same style of piecing together seemingly disparate details to arrive at relevant conclusions. Margaret Harkness was a real journalist and independent feminist at that time as well, though the notion of the three of them collaborating to solve the Jack the Ripper case is pure fantasy.
Rafe Bird as a young Arthur Conan Doyle in Leviathan, investigating the Whitechapel murders with piercing focus
“…Professor Bell, Dr. Doyle, and Ms. Harkness all contribute to the analysis of the body to draw evidence-based conclusions of how and by whom she was murdered.“
Mansell shared a compelling fact about one of his reasons for making the film: “The history behind the project is … definitely something to bear in mind when watching the film… one of the three main characters is my great-great-great-grandfather, Professor Joseph Bell. He was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, as he taught Arthur Conan Doyle at the University of Edinburgh.”
Every note of this 18-minute film is pitch-perfect. Cornelius, Bird, and Davies hone in on performance details as if they thought Holmes himself was watching. The dark autopsy theater is set and lit commensurate to the grim deeds they are investigating. Beautiful costumes, sparkling dialogue, and a gripping soundtrack round out the endeavor. The atmosphere and quality of this film are reminiscent of the 2001 Johnny Depp film From Hell, based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel.
Leviathan hits like that blade from the fog. A short film typically gets in, tells the story as concisely and vividly as possible within the brief time allotted, and then gets out, leaving the viewer with an emotional impression and concluding the experience. This film, however, only whets the appetite. It would be pure delight to see a full-length feature version.
"…every note of this 18 minute film is pitch perfect"
