Hey folks, Harry here and this is the movie that I am DYING to see... I saw VALENTINE last night and nearly dozed off during that snorer. What a lame piece of junk! Meanwhile hearing about others seeing HANNIBAL is driving me crazy.... I'm so hyped up to see this one it isn't even funny! We've got a pair of look-seers and here's where you take over... Go...
Harry,
Call me "The Walkabouter" in name...
Surely the first "must see" movie of 2001 in terms of audience anticipation, HANNIBAL is the long-awaited sequel to Jonathan Demme's classic, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. It is no freak accident that the film is opening right before Valentine's Day -- the original opened almost ten years (to the day) prior to HANNIBAL's upcoming release.
Based on Thomas Harris' very grisly book (which drew much attention and as much criticism for its seemingly relentless gratuity, as well as some far-fetched plot devices), screenwriter Steve Zaillian does an admirable job of condensing the novel to screenplay form. (David Mamet is credited as well, though his early draft -- more faithful to the elaborate nature of the book, if indeed silly -- was rejected.)
Directed by visual auteur Ridley Scott, the film has a sleek, colorful, gorgeous look to it, vastly contrasting the claustrophobic, dark, subdued tones of the original film and replacing it with a painterly canvas of Italian scenery.
Set ten years after SILENCE left off, Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) leads an ill-fated FBI drug raid, resulting in several deaths and much bad publicity for the bureau. Unjustly forced into taking the fall for the tragedy, even though it wasn't her fault, Clarice is beckoned to the call of multi-millionaire Mason Verger (Gary Oldman). Verger, a deranged lunatic and pedophile, was the only one of Hannibal Lecter's victims to survive -- though severely disfigured, with virtually all the loose flesh ripped from his face. (Oldman's makeup job is perhaps the single most horrifying element to the film -- looking like a cross between Mr. Rogers and Fire Marshall Bill, and speaking like a cross between Larry Flynt and Ross Perot, Oldman's psycho actually manages to upstage Hopkins in a few small moments.) Verger is hell-bent on finding and capturing the good Doctor for his own vengeful purposes (as if Lecter wasn't bad enough), and hopes that Clarice's recent public humiliation might be the key to luring the lion from his den.
Thousands of miles away, Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) has been living incognito in Florence, Italy, assuming the position of curator to a classic Florentine Art library. (The original curator mysteriously disappeared...hmmm....how did that happen?) Learning of Clarice's fall from Grace, he carries on a mail correspondence with her. Meanwhile, a local Italian police investigator uncovers Lecter's true identity, and schemes up a plan to capture him so that he may collect Verger's $3 million reward.
From there, things get really complicated, as Lecter outwits (and "out-does" -- literally) his opponents and returns to the US of A to find Clarice once again. With Verger on Clarice's trail, Hannibal is ultimately captured, and... well, the rest you'll have to see for yourself.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was an extraordinary film, and while gruesome, there was an underlining sensitivity to the characters, and resonated with an incredible chemistry between Jodie Foster and Hopkins. One of the most intense and miraculous pairings between any two actors in film, Foster and Hopkins played off each other brilliantly. Demme directed the film from Clarice's point of view, giving us the picture's heart and soul, while Hopkins delivered its sinister yet delectible menace. Though only onscreen for 20 to 30 minutes, Hopkins' presence was felt throughout every moment.
Ridley Scott's approach is far more visceral and gothically visual, if not quite as emotionally satisfying. Whereas SILENCE built relentless tension through quiet, unnervingly calm moments, Scott fuses HANNIBAL with pulsating, eye-dazzling freakshows. It is not Clarice's story, and even if this tale isn't meant to be from her perspective, the warmth and humanity that Demme and Foster had injected into the hellish world around them is sorely missed. HANNIBAL is many things: sadistically funny, clever, jaw-dropping, stomach-churning, thrilling, intense, and -- yes -- scary. But it isn't nearly as emotionally moving as the original.
Given the parameters of Harris' story, much of the excessiveness (even to the point of caricature) has been wisely omitted. But what remains is STILL REALLY OUT THERE. Even if the thrills and screams come just as quickly as before, the emotional resonance seems empty by comparison. It's easy to understand why Foster backed out from reprising her role.
As her successor, Julianne Moore is up to the task, and acquits herself well.
With an accent that virtually mirrors Foster's West Virginian twang for SILENCE, Moore is radiant and refreshing. The nervous, vulnerable FBI student from the original has now matured into a determined, strong -- though psychologically scarred -- woman who manages to hold her ideals against the corrupt system she's supposed to support. Though I must admit to preferring Foster in the role, Moore's take is probably the best "second-best" out there, and we should be thankful for it.
And, of course, Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter -- the virtual embodiment of
sophisticated evil -- remains perhaps the most charming and sinister monster
to
grace the screen. No longer captive to prison glass walls, Lecter spends his
time roaming about ancient cities, drinking expensive wines, and donning
Armani
suits. Hopkins is having the time of his life, and if he was indeed paid the
sum of $25 million for the role (repudedly the largest up-front salary ever
given to an actor), he has earned it. HE is the heart of the story, as well
as
the center of attention, this time 'round...and surely audiences will be, er,
eating it up in the weeks to come.
And here we have comments from theguyinthebackrow... He details the opening pretty complete, and I have used the invisible text feature to protect some details from the ending of the film. Read on...
Harry,
So I've been scanning your site for the last couple of days wondering if any of your spys had seen Hannibal yet. I saw that one guy say that he saw it at Sundance...liar. It didn't screen at Sundance. The only place it's really been screening at is on the grounds of MGM
However...I saw Hannibal last night at the Main Theatre at MGM...oh yeah!
The first scene begins with a black screen. Mason Verger played by the brilliant Gary Oldman is asking a question to Barney, Lector's old guard (played by the same actor from "Silence of the Lambs"). A tiny box, which is the scene miniturized, appears on the bottom, left side of the sceen. The box gets bigger and bigger until the scene is fully viewable on the movie screen: It's a strange yet cool affect. Verger is asking Barney about Hannibal Lector's relationship with Clarice Starling. Verger as you probably know has no face...or at least not much. He's got one good eye and a bit of a nose, the rest is scar tissue. (A note on the make-up: I thought it was going to look fake, but actually it looked stunningly real) Later on you find out that Verger was a client of Lector and that Lector drugged him and asked him to cut his own face off and feed it to his dogs. Oldman has a great line about this: "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Finally Barney is about to leave and he presents Verger with a pink box. Verger asks his Doctor (the gov. from that HBO show "OZ") if he could have one of the cookies...Doc says "it would probably kill you." Barney opens the box and inside is the historic face muzzle that Lector wore when he met the Senator in "Silence". Verger buys the muzzle for something like $15,000.
After that there is a title sequence, which is digital video shots of Italy.
The next scene is of Claric Starling, played by Juliane Moore, and the police raid gone horribly wrong. The only real problem I had with the movie is that Moore never really took her acting job to that next level she normally does in films like "Magnolia" and "Boogie Nights". Usually she has no problem with intensity, and this Clarice called for intensity...alas no intensity. It was as if she were trying to playing Jodie Foster's Clarice instead of her own. I was disappointed.
Probably the most talked about scene of the film is the brain eating scene. "Does it look real you ask?" Yes. Very real. Even down to the protective, clear sack that covers the brain and that Lector has to pull off. I'd see this movie again just to see Ray Liota (in, sadly, a worthless role) eat a piece of his own brain and then, in a drugged stupor, say "Yummy."
One cool thing was that the ending was actually surprising...or at least there is a part of the ending that was surprising.
I don't want to ruin the whole movie so I won't go into much. What I will say is "at least $25 mil the first weekend."
From,
theguyinthebackrow
