Remake of Alfred Hitchcock's first film, "The Lodger," now re-imagined as an urban thriller set in Los Angeles. "Lodger" is based on the true story of the hysteria caused by the Jack the Ripper's killing spree that took place over several weeks in 1888. Ondaatje's adaptation is broken into two converging plot lines set in present-day Los Angeles. The first involves an uneasy relationship between a psychologically unstable landlady and her enigmatic lodger, and the second is about a troubled detective engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with an unknown killer.