the story opens in 1927 ( which is , incidentally , the year of the directors birth ) louisiana , where a painter of fine arts is murdered in the room of a boarding house for being an `` ungodly warlock '' we get the full period effect thanks to black and white , faux-1920s style filming , then the story flash-forwards into colorful present day when a young woman , liza ( catriona maccoll ) , has just inherited the old boarding house and is turning it into a working hotel .