This 2001 film is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Anthony Kopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Giancarlo Giannini and Ray Liotta. It's a rather stretched 132 minutes long and is rated 18. It was recently given its terrestrial TV premiere on ITV1 and they very kindly put the news through the middle of it! Nevertheless, I still sat up and watched it and was astounded by it.
The basic plot follows Hannibal's exploits 10 years after his escape in "Silence Of The Lambs". He is still on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list and he's living in Italy where he is studying art and working in a museum. FBI agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore), on the other hand, isn't doing so well. A botched drug raid results in her demotion and she's also sent a request from Lecter's only living victim, Mason Verger (Gary Oldman). He wants to talk to her but little does Clarice realise that he's using her as bait to lure Hannibal out of hiding. Verger wants his revenge. Verger has also put a reward out for anyone who can bring him Dr Lecter and a police officer decides to try and capture Hannibal rather than turn him in to the FBI. He clearly just wants the money and isn't interested in justice. Agent Starling meanwhile is also having a little trouble with her male colleagues.
Will Hannibal get caught by anyone and what will happen to Agent Starling? That is the basic plot.
So far so reasonable. However,
it's the way the plot is executed - pardon the pun - which is very problematic. It's very easy to see why Jodie Foster pulled out of this film, apparently on "moral grounds".
Hannibal is set up as some kind of anti-hero and we start to quite like him. Even worse, his new victims - even a little boy towards the end who is given a piece of brain to eat - are seen to "deserve" it. Verger is a child molester who has apparently used child prostitutes - "11 year olds who would do anything for a bit of candy" - so we don't exactly feel sorry for him. The police officer is somewhat corrupt and was going to hand Hannibal over to Verger for cash, so again we think he was very stupid, to say the least. Clarice's colleague who becomes a victim is a bully and is highly unlikeable so no sympathy there either. The small boy at the end is impolite - a thing which Hannibal can't stand. As an audience, you feel Hannibal's irritation at having a gobby child sitting next to him on a plane and then you have to try and pull yourself away from his way of thinking.
It's all most unsettling and it's a slippery-slope to suggest that one kind of criminal is somehow "better" than another.
The other dubious aspect of this film is the suggestion that women at the top of their tree professionally can't have a private life. Hannibal taunts Agent Starling at times about not having a family as she's given all that up for work. I found the idea that a woman should have a job OR children really offensive; nobody would make such a suggestion to a man. Ridley Scott seems to have issues about that sort of thing, if you look at his other films eg Alien, Thelma and Louise.
The relationship between the two main characters is actually quite strange. When Hannibal saves Clarice from a fire, the way the shot is filmed is almost like an advert for aftershave. Hannibal is a tall and strong, saving his woman from death. He looks almost like a fire-fighter and I half expected to hear Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero"! I think Ridley Scott started off in film advertising, if I recall correctly, and in this scene he seems to have gone back to his roots. It's quite an awful scene.
This brings me to the actual setting and soundtrack. It's quite perverse that this film about eating people is set in one of the culinary and classical music capitals of the world. It's quite a clever thing to do but sadly, Scott seems to be too busy taking pretty pictures to worry about the plot too much. Hannibal seems to move around quite easily, considering the FBI are meant to be trying to catch him and also, the story again is left very open at the end. And how does Clarice manage to get to Hannibal so quickly and easily?
What about the gore? Do we see much murder? Well, there's a flashback to Hannibal trying to strip the skin off Verger and we see him kill a police officer, but the worst part of the film where someone has their head cut open is kept until towards the end. The effects are great and I was genuinely shocked. Not scared exactly but sickened and strangely fascinated. I wanted to stop watching but couldn't. I'll admit this particular scene did keep me awake for a few nights!
The main downside to this film, is as I've said, that Hannibal Lecter seems to have too many redeeming features here but if you don't get drawn in, it's quite easy to watch. The only decent thing he really does in this film - apart from saving Clarice's life - is take the blame for someone else's crime but even that doesn't seem right. Another problem is that Hopkins does seem a little too old to be playing Hannibal. There's a scene where he kisses Clarice and I felt uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons.
The interaction is good however and as Verger points out, we don't know if Hannibal wants to kill her, eat her or have sex with her. We are never quite sure if Hannibal would really hurt Clarice or not.
Julianne Moore does a pretty good job of playing Clarice given that the character has also changed a lot (would Clarice really make this many mistakes?) and Gary Oldman is excellent in his role. As for Hopkins, he comes across as a bit of an old ham and his American accent is rather annoying. He is a great actor of course but his portrayal of Dr Lecter here isn't as good as his earlier one. However, what he is good at is getting the viewer on his side. It's almost like he's playing one of his psychological tricks on us.
I've never read any of Lecter books so I have no idea how this film compares but I suspect the book is much better.
All in all "Hannibal" is an average film but I would probably watch it again. I would recommend it. However, without wishing to sound patronising, it's worth trying to distance yourself from the character and don't get drawn in to the rather dubious morals of this film.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
The book was way better than the film, but I didn't buy the ending on either of them Mx x
AimeeLouise18 18.07.2004 18:34
I am curious about this but I definitely won't be watching it.I'm a very jumpy/sensitive person and horror films and me don't mix!I have an overactive imaginations!
Aimee xxx
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![Hannibal [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78509515.jpg "Hannibal [DVD] [2001]")
Jul 18th, 2004
(Jul 21st, 2005)
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