By
Mark Betancourt
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Sequel to 'Silence Of The Lambs' continues tradition
Grade: B+
At first it seemed like "Hannibal" was destined for failure. Both the director and lead actress of the film's psychologically horrifying predecessor turned down the sequel, and it can be argued that Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster were two of the three driving forces behind the original's success.
But "Hannibal" has a few things going for it. One is the participation of Anthony Hopkins, who single-handedly invented one of the most disturbing ways of behaving ever caught on film. In "Hannibal," he returns as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the refined scholar and ex-psychologist who eats people's faces.
The new director is Ridley Scott, who is not exactly a lightweight on the Hollywood scene. He has collected his own devoted fans with "Alien," "Blade Runner" and, more recently, "Gladiator." The problem with using such a prominent director for "Hannibal" is that his style might conflict with the dark but quiet unobtrusiveness which made the first film so disturbing. Luckily, though, he seems to have been more interested in telling the right story than making another blockbuster.
The new agent Clarice Starling is Julianne Moore, not Jodie Foster. This alone could deter hardcore "Silence" fans, since many of them associate Foster's face not only with the first movie but with the very idea of goodness and purity against the evils of the world. For the more open-minded viewers, the talented Moore is a readily acceptable substitute.
"Hannibal" can best be described as the next episode. The film relies heavily on the audience's familiarity with the characters "Silence" introduced. Hopkins is Dr. Lecter, dusting off the freaky voice and hideously calm expressions fans of the original know and love. There are even a few jokes slipped in about Lecter's eating habits, jokes that might not be so funny if the audience had only just met him.
"Hannibal's" plot, though not as complete and engaging as the first one's, is fairly interesting. The FBI puts Starling back on the Lecter case because one of his former victims seems to have information about his whereabouts. Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) is a former patient of Lecter's, whom Lecter once convinced to cut off his own face. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," Verger tells Starling. Verger is after Lecter now, planning to feed him to a pack of man-eating pigs. Good times.
Although "Hannibal" is not as terrifying and beautiful as "Silence Of The Lambs" - though it's most disturbing scene is considerably sicker - the question of which film is better is left to the fans.
The relationship between Lecter and Starling is still central, and remains one of the strangest and most captivating in horror film history. When Clarice is asked what she's doing sitting in the dark basement of FBI headquarters, she replies "thinkin' about cannibalism." You've got to respect that.
