Review of Hannibal (2001) by Niklas S — 28 Apr 2011

I know I'm in the minority when I say I believe Ridley Scott's Hannibal is a masterpiece. The film is often critiqued in a rather superficial way, with reviewers totally missing the point. The sequel to the Silence of the Lambs isn't trying to live up to it's multi-Oscar-winning predecessor, no director in their right mind would take on that challenge, instead, Ridley Scott takes the franchise in a totally new direction, one much more akin to horror than the crime-thriller genre.

To watch Hannibal expecting a crime-thriller is to see an over the top, irregularly paced cartoon of a film - but that's certainly not what Hannibal is.

Hannibal is a psychological real-world horror, which continues the story of Lector and Clarice while delightfully pushing the boundaries of the disturbed and macabre.

The film looks stunning. Not only through use of some of the world's most beautiful locations, but through lavish and inspired set design. In terms of cinematography, every shot looks like an oil painting, visually layered and complimenting the story perfectly.

After reading the script, the original, Oscar-winning Clarice Starling, Jodi Foster, opted out of the project. It wasn't the direction she wanted to take the character, and as much of a fan of Jodi's performance in TSOTL as I am, I think Julianne Moore nails this script's more seasoned version of our heroine. Clarice may have more kills under her belt than in the original, but Moore balances her bad-assery with the vulnerability required for her interactions with Hannibal to build upon the audience's expectations generated by the franchise's first installment.

Gary Oldman, Frankie Falson and Ray Liotta are joined by the hypnotic Francesca Neri in forming a rock solid supporting cast.

But as with any good Lector film, it's all down to Sir Anthony Hopkins and I cannot say this strongly enough - he delivers. Performance versus performance, I think the Lector of Hannibal wipes the floor with the original - and that's saying something. He is just so damn good, and it's clear that Ridley Scott knows to just let him do his thing and paint the film around him.

Hannibal isn't a simple film to watch, but it is a totally under-appreciated film unlike any other.