Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Hannibal





Hannibal
2001

Director- Ridley Scott
Cast- Julianne Moore, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta, Frankie R. Faison, Giancarlo Giannini, Francesca Neri, Ċ½eljko Ivanek
           
    Even though Ridley Scott gave us  (in my opinion) the greatest horror-science fiction movie ever (Alien), his name is not the first on anyone’s lips when thinking of horror directors. His style lends itself to epics like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven. Horror, by its nature, works best on a personal level.
            

    In this sequel to Silence of the Lambs, we follow Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster in Lambs, played by Julianne Moore here), now a 10 year veteran of the FBI. Her idealism has been worn away by dealing with politics and bureaucracy.
           
     Gary Oldman plays a truly wretched villain, Mason Verger. Verger is an unrepentant pedophile who has avoided prosecution because of his family’s extraordinary wealth. Years ago, after an encounter with Hannibal Lector, he was left horribly deformed and paralyzed. He has spent the years since plotting his revenge.
            

    Lector (Anthony Hopkins, reprising his greatest role ever) has spent the last 10 years incognito, avoiding the spotlight. He has killed an academic in Italy in hopes of replacing the man when the job opens.
            
     Starling gets in hot water with the FBI after a bust turned into a shootout with several dead. She is used as a sacrificial lamb and tossed to the wolves. She is hounded by a Justice Department pencil pusher (Ray Liotta) who wants his own petty revenge against Starling for refusing his sexual advances. Verger sees this as a chance to lure Lector into the open by using Starling as a bait. Verger’s plan works and Hannibal comes out of self-imposed exile to help Starling, in his own very violent way.
          

      The biggest obstacle that this film faces is that it’s not Silence of the Lambs. That film won 5 Oscars and made Anthony Hopkins a household name. It would be unfair to expect Hannibal to live up to that. Red Dragon (the prequel to Silence) attempted to recreate the look and feel of Silence but only succeeded in reminding you that it wasn’t Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal at least tries to be its own film.
            
     Whereas Silence relies mainly on ambiance and character study, Hannibal spends more effort on overt shock. There are several gruesome murders none more so than when Hannibal has his victim eat their own brain! The most unsettling thing in the film though is Gary Oldman’s incredibly realistic make-up. He is truly horrifying, like a bloody car accident. You want to look away but your eyes won’t let you. Ridley Scott’s penchant for epics comes in handy as the story moves back and forth between America and Italy and follows multiple gradually intersecting storylines.
           
    So if you are expecting Silence of the Lambs, you will be disappointed. If on the other hand, you’d like a competent suspense film with good performances and gore, Hannibal will satisfy you.

Side note- If you want a really different (and very good) film watch Manhunter (the first film version of Red Dragon and the first cinematic appearance of Hannibal Lector) I highly recommend it.

No comments:

Post a Comment