I have a love/hate relationship with the film. I was very disappointed on first viewing because it falls so short of SotL. The script is messy, Moore is a poor substitute for Foster, the characters are thin and the dialogue is ropey, the ‘crowd pleasing’ Lecter one-liners are cheap, Hopkins is phoning it in, the sped up and slowed down footage and ‘creative’ shutter speed effects look tacky and ruin several moments… and it’s much, much dumber.
Compared to Red Dragon, though, it’s a masterpiece. Ridley has none of Demme’s skill at creating rich characters (often having the actors look directly down the lens) but he is a master of visuals and atmosphere - and he shoots Venice and all of the locations with incredible artistry, and as with Alien he creates a sense of a hostile, cold and fucked up world with some nasty creatures in it.
If Lambs has one weakness it’s the rather bland score. Hannibal wins out on this score (no pun), Zimmer is on beast mode and creates some luscious textures. The opera music is heavenly, and the gentle piano captures the elegance of our favourite psychotic cannibal.
There are also some great sequences. Lecter and Clarice escaping the flesh-hogs is boss. Pazi visiting Lecter’s apartment - you’re just waiting for Lecter to jump him and turn his face into breakfast, the opera, the spectacular disembowelment of Pazi, Lecter trapping Clarice in the fridge and ripping the handle off then almost going for a bite, Lecter feeding Krendler his brain - that is truly unique and horrific.
Finally, Gary Oldman as the biscuit-faced Mason Verger almost steals the show, and his exchange with the captive Lecter is gold:
‘I bet you’re wishing you’d fed the rest of me to the dog?’
‘No, Mason, I like you just the way you are’
There’s enough great stuff in Hannibal to keep me coming back, but every time I do I’m let down by the shit parts, and reminded that the pacing doesn’t really work.
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