’’Hannibal’’ is one of those movies that you know you probably shouldn’t see, since you know that it is going to be bad for your head not to mention your stomach. This movie is scary, suspenseful and gory. In Hannibal, Lecter the escaped monster (Anthony Hopkins), now living in Italy under the courtly identity of a Renaissance scholar named Dr. Fell, is pursued by a multiplicity of forces, and he responds by attacking his enemies.
Adapted by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian from Thomas Harris’ 1999 novel, ’Hannibal’ lacks the emotional elegance of ’’The Silence of the Lambs’’, yet director Ridley Scott, a rapt technician coming off the ’Gladiator’ now casts a grisly fairy tale spell. Though the man has not been heard from in years, the spectre of Hannibal Lecter has never vanished, least of all for one Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) a multi- millionaire whose arguable misfortune it is to be the lone survivor of a Lecter attack; confined to a wheelchair on his vast estate, his face has the most hideous scars and his prime interest in life is to kidnap Hannibal Lecter and subject him to the most hideous torture his vengeful mind can conjure.
His plan: To unleash starving giant pigs on his tormentor and keep him alive while the beasts devour his feet and eventually the rest of him. The FBI agent Clarice Starling (Juliana Moore) would rather handcuff him and put him away rather than handcuff and put him out. Verger pursues both Lectre and Starling. Verger also posts a $3 million reward, which attracts the attention in Florence, Italy, of Detective Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini), who rightly suspects that a local newcomer, Dr. Fell, who is poised to take over a distinguished scholarly position after the mysterious disappearance of the previous office holder, is, in fact, Hannibal Lecter.
With the aide of some professional thugs, Pazzi plots to spring a trap on Lecter. The infamous dinner scene, which ironically recalls the feast Hopkins recently cooked up in ’Titus’ and involves Lecter serving an unsuspecting victim morsels from his own body, was weird enough in the book and is even weirder to witness played out onscreen. Some will cringe and not be able to look.
’Hannibal’ is tantalizing, engrossing and occasionally startling, well-crafted film that reaches into your head and guts. The clever camera angles and a haunting musical score make certain scenes perfectly shocking and eerie. It’s an intense thriller that plays more with your mind than anything else.