Unloved sequel to the very famous Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal has gradually fallen into the oblivion of the Hannibal Lecter series; yet behind the figure of the famous cannibal professor is a direction worthy of the best Ridley Scott, a scenario that holds the road and an image in some aspects much better than that of its predecessor. This Halloween month, (re)discover the second installment of the famous tetralogy now on Netflix.
The chronology is perfectly respected: 10 years after his escape from the Baltimore asylum (and therefore exactly 10 years after the release of The Silence of the Lambs), the psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter settles in the tranquility of Florence; however, it was without counting on Agent Clarice Starling, with whom the professor has forged a special bond, who will do everything to find the fugitive and put an end to the cannibal legend. What follows is an agonizing and rhythmic manhunt, where the interests of each of the characters intersect with my bloody delusions of Hannibal in a setting worthy of a Shakespeare play.
Hannibal has a long history behind him: after the refusal of Jodie Foster (who played Clarice in The Silence of the Lambs and was able to give the character such a magnetic aura that it was difficult to see someone reprise the role) to resume his character, and the doubts of Anthony Hopkins, the film is finally taken over by the great Ridley Scott, who a year after Gladiator regains a taste for dark human characters. And it is finally Julianne Moore (Still Alice) who will take over the famous role of Agent Starling, forming an incredible duet with Hopkins.
As confusing as his predecessor, Hannibal never ceases to play with the ambiguities of the genre, mixing the policeman with the horrific while blurring the tracks; But make no mistake, if Hannibal is adorned with sumptuous scenery and captivating music, it is nevertheless a film worthy of a Halloween night, in an anatomical violence and always more aesthetic. If some of the doctor's meals will make us look away under the blow of the gag, other scenes will delight our pupils with their worked lights. The links between Clarice and Hannibal become clearer and more assertive as the two characters are exchanged, by letters, calls or merry-go-rounds. Real pretexts for game scenes for Lecter (perhaps a little less for Starling), these relationships alone establish incredible swirling stagings, between a mischievous naivety and a vertiginous anxiety. If the psychological game loses its charisma (the interviews between the two characters in The Silence of the Lambs will always remain unmatched), the staging is reinforced by this incessant hunting game.
What makes the charm of this opus is the presence of its flagship characters, which illuminates the scenario and gives everything this special atmosphere faithful to the novels of Thomas Harris. The games of Anthony Hopkins and Gary Oldman (unrecognizable in his role of "villain") allow Hannibal to rise to the level of the very good films of Ridley Scott, and ensures the continuity of the tetralogy in very good conditions.
Often relegated as a simple unfinished sequel to The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal nevertheless has beautiful qualities that make it the ideal film for your Halloween party; the horror drama is played between two Hans Zimmer arias and two gothic sets, always catchy and rhythmic, until the final climax that sounds decrescendo the end of a cycle. A classic to (re)discover without further delay on Netflix.
