February 9, 2001
Veronica Mixon
Furthermore, Hopkins and Julianne Moore are
superbly matched in this spine-tingling thriller
that continues to dazzle the audience's imagination.
Let's face it: Hannibal Lecter is the most famous
serial killer in the world.
Hannibal begins with a botch FBI operation
where Clarice Starling (Moore) shots a female
drug lord (Hazelle Goodman) with a baby strapped
to her body. The resulting fury in the press makes
Starling a target at work and justice official,
Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta) takes particular delight
in harassing her. Suddenly, she's reassigned to
the cold case of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, where there
are few leads. Of course, the FBI still wants
to capture Lecter as doesn't his only surviving
victim, Mason Verger played by an unbilled Gary
Oldman. The wealthy Verger is intent on revenge
and he has posted a sizable reward.
Meanwhile, in Florence, Lecter has surfaced as
a lecturer for a private museum and unexpected
piqued the curiosity of Inspector Pazzi (Giancarlo
Giannini). His boredom has gotten the better of
him and he's hoping that Starling is back on the
case. Verger, too, realizes that to draw Lecter
out, he must entice him with bait: Clarice Starling.
Hannibal joins distinguished company (The
Godfather II, The Empire Strikes Back and
Aliens) as one of the few sequels to be
as good as the first film. Ridley Scott created
the original artistic Alien film which
spawned the wildly popular glossy sequel that
is also a good stand-alone movie. While the original
Silence of the Lambs was a detailed, emotional
look at the phenomon of serial killing - the killer,
the hunt and the psychological ramifications upon
the society at large, it was also a clever cat-and-mouse
game between a jailed killer and a young ambitious
FBI agent.
Hannibal features a mature Clarice Starling
who is an accomplished law enforcement officer
but a sad woman. She doesn't seem to have a personal
life or any friends. I'm sure this follows the
book which has a different ending than the movie,
however, it also sets up Starling to take her
place next to Scott's other fierce heroine, Ripley
in the Alien series. The director is as
comfortable with powerful action-oriented women
as he is with his male heroes. It would have been
interesting to see what Jody Foster would have
done to the role but Julianne Moore, best known
for her chameleon-like performances in The
End of an Affair, Safe, Boogie Nights and
Magnolia, is excellent as the icy Starling.
She's learned to conceal her emotions since last
meeting Lecter but she hasn't learned to stop
making foolish moves when facing such a killing
machine.
So, what is different? Everything! Hannibal Lecter
is loose and we glimpse him in his comfortable
cultured milieu cleverly passing judgment on the
people around him. Anthony Hopkins (The Remains
of the Day, Legends of the Fall) gives
Lecter a sophisticated, bon vivant air as he taunts
Starling with clues and duels with the Italian
detective and the vengeful Verger. That's why
the ending will blow the audience away because
just when you're comfortable with him - and even
root for his escape - Lecter shows his true colors.
It is astonishing!
No doubt Ridley Scott will be criticized for
the violence and horror in the movie but considering
that the film is about Lecter and his particular
manner of killing, it makes perfect sense. Scott
wisely reprises snippets from the first movie
- the kindly prison guard, Barney (Frankie R.
Faison), the challenge to Starling's authority,
her habit of lonely jogs and the reference to
her poor upbringing. He also satisfies the audience's
appetite for revenge against people who abuse
their power. Also, his casting of Gary Oldman,
an actor who loves masks but doesn't need them
astonish audiences, is wonderful Oldman's rye
humor is perfect here just as his sarcastic arrogance
works in The Contender. Also, good is Ray
Liotta (Goodfellas) as the hateful government
official and veteran Italian actor, Giancarolo
Giannini (Seven Beauties) as the greedy
cop. However, the real pearl of "Hannibal" is
superb rendering of a man that we should not become
too fond of because, after all, he is a killer.
Hannibal shouldn't be missed.
