Deliciously Twisted

Hannibal is without a doubt one of those films that will have audiences divided. And I mean big time. Many will be part of the majority, who absolutely hate this film. Or you may be like me, and you'll absolutely love it. My point is, you have to see this film! This is not just a movie, this is an event. Yes this film is disturbing as hell. Unbelievably twisted and sick. It is also exceedingly fun. I don't know how long it's been since I've had this much fun at a movie. It's exciting and surprisingly funny. I saw the film the day it opened, Friday Febuary 9th. I'm already making plans with other friends, and family members, to see it again.

All right, before I get to caught up on this film, let me answer the question you are probably thinking if you haven't seen it yet. Is it as good as The Silence Of The Lambs? Yes and no. The films are two different genres. The Silence Of The Lambs is without a doubt a drama. A psychological drama, but a drama nonetheless. Hannibal is without question a horror film.

The Silence Of The Lambs was quiet and dark. It had it's moments of terrifying suspense and sheer creepiness. By film standards, it is the better film. Why? Because Hannibal doesn't take it self nearly so seriously. Silence was intended to be a dark film, Hannibal is intended to be an entertaining film. Hannibal is much more epic in size. If you compare it to Silence, which I will stop doing in a minute, The Silence Of The Lambs feels much more claustrophobic. You know the difference between Alien and Aliens? How one was quiet and scary, the other was loud-in-your-face-action movie? That's what Silence and Hannibal are like.

I'm sure you are all familiar with the premise, but if you are not I'll do a quick plot summary. Hannibal Lector has been living abroad in Italy, under another name. He gives lectures in museums and is just enjoying life. Or how he puts it, "living in hibernation".

Clarice Starling is still in the FBI. She is a woman who is dedicated to her job. Then one day something goes wrong, terribly wrong. She almost loses her job, and guess what, she is put back on the case of Hannibal Lector.

The man responsible for her being back on the case is a Mason Verger. He was Lector's fourth victim, and the only man to ever survive an encounter with him. Although his face is left just a "bit" disfigured.

So the chase begins. It seems everyone is after Hannibal for their different reasons. We are introduced to other characters in the film, who all have their own agendas. As far as plot goes, I will not be giving away anything more.

Characters

Giancarlo Giannini: Playing the role of Rinaldo Pazzi, the detective in Italy on the trail of Hannibal Lector. He is suspicious that Hannibal isn't who he says he is.

Giancarlo is excellent in the film. I'm not familiar with too much of his prior work, but if it is this good, I'm going to have to check it out. He plays a character whose prime motives for finding Hannibal Lector are greed. Once he realizes who Hannibal Lector is, a genuine fear overcomes him. Although he is going against our anti-hero, Hannibal, the audience feels for him and I think likes him.

Ray Liotta: Ray hasn't been in a good film since 97's Cop land. But There is a reason why Ray is one of my favorite actors. If he is in the right movie, and plays the right character, he can be a true scene stealer. Just look at his best films, Field Of Dreams, Goodfellas. and the underrated Unlawful Entry. In Hannibal however, Ray Liotta really out does him self. I'm sure this will be his most famous role in his entire career, because of a certain scene, which I'll talk about in a few.

In many ways, he is Clarice's villain. He is responsible for her ruined career. He talks down to her, and makes unflattering sexual remarks to her. He is a total prick, and no one could have played the character better than Liotta.

Gary Oldman: He is uncredited in the film, but I have to talk about him. If Hannibal Lector is the film's anti-hero, then you of course need a villain. This villain must be someone who is equally sinister. Equally terrifying. That man, that villain, is Mason Verger.

Gary Oldman is perhaps one of the best character actors working today. Don't believe me? Check out Dracula, True Romance, Leon, and last year's The Contender. Just to name a few. He totally transforms himself into this role. Make-up does play a big part however. Mason is missing his eyelids, lips, and nose. Let's just say he's not a handsome man. Mason might become an icon himself. He will be known as that ugly deformed man in a wheel-chair, who tried to feed Hannibal to man-eating-pigs. What a label huh?

Julianne Moore: Foster is not missed. Don't get me wrong, I loved Jodie in The Silence Of The Lambs as much as the next guy. Julianne does a perfect job replacing her however. To be honest, I didn't even notice she was gone. I believed Moore was Clarice right from the get go.She's got the accent down. She's got the look. She is Clarice, enough said.

Anthony Hopkins: Reprising the greatest role of his career. Without question, the greatest villain in the history of film. He is so bad, he has risen above just being the "bad guy". He is the hero. He is the person the audience has come to see, and root for. He is Hannibal.

Anthony is back and better than ever. He de-liver-ies his dialogue with such an evil glee. He is the reason to see the film. The Silence Of The Lambs was just the tip of the ice-berg for this character. If you loved his character in that, like I did, you've got to see this movie. It does his character justice.

The Director

Ridley Scott. The director of such films as Alien, Blade Runner, Legend and last year's great Gladiator. He gives us, what in my opinion, is his best film to date. Definitely his most fulfilling. Pun intended.

Hannibal is a great looking film. The settings include Italy, and a Virginia estate of James Madison. The film has a very gothic look about it, and the lighting is terrific thoughout the film. He also knows how to film great action sequences. The beginning of the film has one of these. I prefer the look of this film, to The Silence Of The Lambs.

The Infamous Scene

Hannibal has a scene in it, at the end of the film, that could go down as one of the most famous scenes in film history. It is the scene that is mostly responsible for the the negative attitude towards this film.

My thoughts. I loved the scene. It is classic, hilarious, gruesome, fun, and everything I love about cinema. I think it will be as memorable as the shower scene from Psycho or the singing in the rain rape scene in Clockwork Orange.

Gory

Is the film that gory? Yes and no. It does have a lot of gore in the film. The infamous scene and a few other scene are bloody. The thing is, it's not that violent. It's just gore, minus the violence. There are a lot worse films out there. The film has no sex scenes, and hardly and swear words. I hardly think the film is as bad as people are letting on. Kids however, should not see it. 16 and up on this one.

Closing

I had a great time with Hannibal. I have nothing negative to say about it. It's a faithful adaptation to the book. It has great performances and is very well written. The movie is a lot of fun also. Go see it in the theaters, it's like I said before, this is not just a movie, it's an event. Don't be a square and not partake in it.