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HANNIBAL, a take off from
Silence of the Lambs, is about Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), serial killer and admitted cannibal, who escapes prison after 10 years to become one of the 10 most
wanted criminals by the FBI. He hides away in Florence as a wealthy art curator "Dr. Fell", by is spotted by a local detective Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini). Pazzi
schemes to get Lecter's neck for a $3 million reward from Mason Verger, a filthy rich and horribly disfigured recluse in Sardinia who, as Lecter's only surviving victim, wants
revenge. Meanwhile, Lecter himself invites FBI agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore) who fascinated Lecter when she first interviewed him ten years ago.
Many who see Hannibalwill inevitably compare it to the original Hannibal movie,
Silence of the Lambs, which starred Jodie Foster as Clarice. And they'll probably say Hannibalsuffers by comparison, both in substance and presentation. But whether
or not you've seen Silence...Hannibalstill deserves to be assessed independently, for its merits (fine acting) and its demerits (being a carnival freak show elevated to
art). Picture this: a man cuts his face with broken glass and the fallen flesh is fed to a dog. Or this: wild boars are let loose to eat a live and screaming human being to a
slow death. And this: a man is ripped open until his entrails pour out of him and he is left to die dangling from a rope before a horrified public. Another one: someone saws
open a man's skull, scoops out a spoonful from his brain, fries it and feeds it to the still conscious victim. Yuck?
But that's not the worst part of it. It is that the movie glamorizes the villain to hero
status. It presents a serial killer as a tender-hearted, refined man of taste who only kills the characters who are out to harm his "pet" Clarice. Director Ridley Scott and
screenwriters David Mamet and Steven Zaillian have so arranged the movie that the viewer may see Lecter's victims as he does—totally bereft of sympathy. Presenting
the victims as thieves, killers, pedophiles, greedy cops—indeed, indistinguishable from the bad guys, can be confusing, if not downright malicious. How can one,
therefore, condemn this killer who defends the only character (Clarice) who has remained untouched by corruption? When you manipulate the viewer's emotions to side with
the villain, you cloud his judgement. Is it now okay to violate the Fifth Commandment (Thou shalt not kill)? Anthony Hopkin's Hannibal Lecter is a charming, cultured,
refined gentleman who, even when he is mercilessly ripping a bound and gagged victim's guts remains a composed paternal figure. Hopkins won an Oscar for his 30-minute
appearance in Silence of the Lambs—he may have polished his art to perfection, but it's just a pity that it isn't used for films that can truly elevate man. One last
word: if despite everything that's said you still want to watch Hannibal, bring along a vomit bag?
(Date reviewed: March 2, 2002)
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