“Here I… Am.”
On the early end of the boom of fascination with serial killers, when FBI profilers were unknown to the general public, Michael Mann grafted his style onto the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris’ where Hannibal Lector only plays a small part, and delivers the most stylish neo-noir of the 1980s. The hunt for the Tooth Fairy combines high tech forensics with old school cops following clues and hunches.
William Petersen has his best role as Will Graham, psychologically still recovering from catching Lecktor (as its written here), and having to do one of the hardest things as an actor. He walks into a crime scene and talks out loud so we can learn Graham’s process of putting himself into the serial killer’s head. These scenes are some of the most exciting in the film, and Mann gets across how the process creates new avenues to explore. Later on, the focus actually shifts to the killer, Dollarhyde, and the results are more visual but perhaps too full of musical montage. The two sides collide in a nail-biting climax that showcases Mann at the height of his technical powers.
I wanted to spend most of this post NOT talking about Hannibal, because this makes a list of the best Horror/Thrillers for many other reasons, but I can’t let Brian Cox’s performance go unremarked. It’s a great introduction to the character and played in a way quite different from Anthony Hopkins and later Mads Mikkelsen. Perhaps a little more outwardly insane and less refined, but still quite resourceful and brilliant. You have no trouble believing this Hannibal enjoys eating people the way many enjoy a good burger, and coming first it ensured that Hopkins wouldn’t be the one and only way to play the part.
Leave A Comment