Review of Manhunter (1986) by Michael W — 31 Jan 2016

One of Michael Mann's first films, the very first appearance of Hannibal Lechter (Brian Cox), and a very decent detective story set in a neon 80s noir backdrop, with some overly cheesy moments speckled throughout an otherwise-honest and serious crime drama.

William Peterson plays FBI agent Will Graham, who has a history with the equally-insane-and-brilliant Hannibal Lechter, who is incarcerated and still cleverly finding ways of communicating with a killer who's still on the loose. It's up to Graham to put all the pieces together before the killer strikes again at the time of the next full moon, while protecting his family and himself from a murderous madman.

This film lacks one major element: namely, Lechter. The most interesting character is only in this film for one scene and is tossed into the background of the plot thereafter. To be fair, how could script-adapter and director Michael Mann have known what an enigmatic figure Sir Anthony Hopkins would create with his performance just five short years later? It was a simple choice of adaptation from the source material that any screenwriter could have made to better serve the real story. Despite this honest and innocent misgiving, Mann creates a dark, moody thriller whose pace and drama is masterfully crafted, especially so early in his career as a filmmaker.