Manhunter Reviews

Including the current television series (which if you never watched it, how dare you), Hannibal Lecter has appeared in a (loose) franchise with 6 distinct entries. The television series, Hannibal, may be the most artistically daring and original of the various works, but Manhunter was a clear and obvious influence. Based upon Red Dragon, the first of Thomas Harris’ novels to use Lector, Manhunter is also the second-best of the five films. (Sorry, but The Silence of the Lambs is just a magnificent piece of pop-thriller film-making.)

On its own merits, Manhunter is one hell of a film. With a serial killer, dubbed The Tooth Fairy but preferring to call himself the Great Red Dragon over his obsession with that painting, targeting happy families, Will Graham is called back into the FBI. Graham had previously captured Hannibal Lecter (called Lector here, for some reason), and he uses that infamous killer as a springboard to find the Tooth Fairy, a killer with seemingly no clues or traces of where to find him. Graham’s strong sense of empathy allows for him to enter the minds of killers, to figure out their tactics and motivations, to work from the inside out to find them.

All of this is old hat if you’ve seen Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon, or you’ve been watching the television show. No matter, Manhunter, despite being roughly thirty years old, is still a refreshing spin on the material. Director Michael Mann’s clinical detachment, tight sense of framing, and expressionist use of color suites the material just fine. The very 80s shine is all surface level, and it isn’t long until we’re descending into more shadows and use of light to evoke mood and tension.

Harris’ purple prose and melodramatic narrative twists are underplayed by all involved, making the action seem, somehow, real and true. William Petersen’s Will Graham has a clear descent into near-madness to play. Petersen’s handsome face slowly drains itself of life and energy, most of this is accomplished with just his eyes. By the end, he’s wearing a haunted look that makes one question if he can return to some semblance of normalcy after staring into the abyss for so long.

Brian Cox’s portrayal of Lector is an interesting departure from the more polite, if uneasy Anthony Hopkins, and the faux-gallantry and tortured poet of Mads Mikkelsen. Cox chooses to play his Lecter as the physical embodiment of intellect gone evil. He’s a series of wild eye flashes and honey-voiced threats, but this Lecter isn’t in it enough to leave a more impressionable mark. Perhaps a fault of the script, or perhaps an artistic choice, but it seems odd to deny us one of the most dastardly charismatic parts of the story for so much of the running time. Tom Noonan is much better as the Tooth Fairy, a character we almost feel some sympathy for in his inability to relate to his fellow man, but not enough to make us forget about the horrific crimes he’s routinely committing. His physicality alone is imposing and distressing, and once we get to a scene where he tortures and kills a journalist, any positive feelings towards the character have long evaporated into a sense of dread and fear.

If Manhunter has any problem, and it wasn’t one for me, it’s that the entire thing feels artificial, fussily designed and staged. This tilts the dramatics more towards the abstract, teetering on the brink of hallucinatory nightmare images dancing before our eyes. This is purposefully remote and icy, not the funeral dirge and without the sense of repeated trauma of The Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter is but another option in adapting the source material. I think it’s underrated and undervalued as a film, and I can see its influence in films like Seven.

Personally, I have never been a huge fan of ‘The Silence of The Lambs’. Sure, I did like it, it is definitely an entertaining flick but, in my opinion, it is a seriously over the top thriller with some preposterous scenes. The sad thing is that even though this movie has become a huge classic, many people tend to forget that it wasn’t actually the first film starring Hannibal Lecter. Indeed, 5 years before, Michael Mann directed this flick which was an adaptation of ‘Red Dragon’ which would be remade more than 15 years later by Brett Ratner. All right, I have to admit it, it wasn’t better than ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ which still remains by far the best movie involving Lecter but it was still pretty good though and it sure deserves to get more attention. The most interesting thing about this flick is how vastly different the mood and the tone was. I also enjoyed Brian Cox’s performance as it was something really different than Anthony Hopkins'. Indeed, his Lector was much more down to earth which was very welcome. To conclude, I think it is actually a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I haven't read the book - I've read its sequel and have seen the film adaptation, though - I cannot truly say just how much did Michael Mann and the crew followed the book or improvised of their own. But by what I saw, my feelings on this film is mixed. Very mixed. At times it is clunky, at times boring, at times too offish and, surprisingly, at times energetic, although in a flawed sense. This is, in a way, probably the only film I've had difficulty to write a review on. I like the film but I cannot bring myself to appreciate the film beyond a certain level because of its unnaturalistic and lazy approach to the building of the characters and the thrill behind the scenes. I have come to understand these flaws because it was only Mann's third film, meaning he was still new to the art of directing, which he perfected in his later films like Heat, The Last of the Mohicans and my personal two favourites, Collateral and Public Enemies. This film as a whole is quite-satisfying but doesn't exactly quench your thirst. It leaves you with that uncomfortable feeling of wanting just one more sip to fully satisfy it - something it doesn't give.

The pacing of the film was kinda disappointing but surprisingly on the spot in the scenes concerning Hannibal Lektor - The name was misspelled for the film. The above line is small comfort because Lektor's scenes don't amount to more than 10 minutes. Hannibal Lektor - or Lecter - has been bought to public consciousness by Anthony Hopkins in the sequel, Silence of the Lambs, a performance lasting only 16 minutes. A legendary performance, Hopkins's portrayal of "The Cannibal" has, to many, rendered Brian Cox's take almost useless - a viewpoint I don't fully appreciate. Brian Cox's performance was chilly, haunting and totally mesmerizing. It was his voice that gave his character a different edge, a unique feeling - like a butcher honing his knife, or a finger sliding over the shiny surface of a razor. His incredibly short screen-time had me impressed, and although not to the level of Hopkins, is a memorable, almost iconic new character in itself.

Story-wise the film is quite smooth, although it is tortuously filled with potholes here and there. Not only it seriously affected the pace and the atmosphere of the film, but also affected the characters, and many did not rise to the bar they were supposed to. Tom Noonan, who plays the actual villain of the film, Tooth Fairy Killer, felt underused in a rather promising role. Due to the clunkiness, he never becomes the iconic character he should've, but settles down for a memorable one. He did, however, feel right at home during the last 5 minutes with all the shooting and everything. But nevertheless, Tom Noonan was very intimidating in his role, and his one quote "Well, here I am" has now become one of my favourites, because of the seriously awesome delivery. William Petersen, who plays Will Graham, the main protagonist, although was convincing in his role, did not win me 100% over. In many scenes he felt like as if he was regretting his decision. It was indeed a good performance, but quite unhinged. I guess I'll have to see it again to make up my mind. All the others, in my opinion, were just OK. Even though she's now painfully associated with that idiotic quote from Death Race among us teenagers, Joan Allen was quite cute in her role, and was a total surprise.

In all, Manhunter is not what I would call a disappointing film, but it does tread in those waters I'm afraid!

7.5/10

"Have you ever seen blood in the moonlight, Will? It appears quite black."

Michael Mann is a director who went on to get a number of big titles against his name. Heat and Collateral are my personal favourites of director Mann.

However, little do people remember that he directed this classic mystery thriller back in the 1980s. After the success of the movie Silence of the Lambs audiences never really realised that it was the sequel to Manhunter; a film that introduced us to the psychotic genius known as Dr. Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lector (incorrectly spelt as 'Lecktor' in the film).

I had seen both Silence of the Lambs and its eventual follow-up Hannibal before laying my hands on this film. In hindsight I really wish that I watched them all in order because I guess my opinion has been tainted with the image of Anthony Hopkins playing Hannibal Lector as menacing and unbeatably brilliant.

Because Hopkins walked away with an Oscar for his portrayal in Silence of the Lambs I approached Manhunter with caution because Brian Cox portrays the role. Manhunter is an exceptional film on its own merits without taking its sequels into consideration.

The film's style is vastly different to the style utilised by those who helmed the sequels. Mann skilfully uses long shots, full faces, large spatial separation, or cutting from one character to another in isolation, all with slightly out-of-focus backgrounds. Because of Mann's unique directorial style Manhunter is a film with something new to offer with each new screening. Clues are easier to pick up, more cinematic techniques noticed, etc.

The character of Hannibal Lector (Cox) takes a sideline position in this film. He appears very rarely throughout the film's duration because the focus is on other characters. The main character of this story is a former FBI agent named William Graham (Peterson) who has been hurt physically and mentally while in the process of apprehending the serial killer Hannibal Lector.

In this film, Graham is coaxed out of retirement to help the FBI track down a serial killer nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" (Noonan). Graham seeks minor assistance from Lector while he tries to solve the case.

Manhunter is a chilling thriller as well as a captivating character study. Mann is notorious for expertly crafting dialogue scenes that drive the movie with incredible pace. Some may find the pacing slow because of so much dialogue. If you listen to the lines you won't find the pacing as painfully slow as some people have complained.

William Peterson is very skilled in the leading role. The purpose of his character was to dissect all the clues that will lead to revealing the identity of the serial killer. As his character tries to get into the mind of the killer he's tracking, he says a lot of strange things out loud that help the audience understand what he is thinking about. This is an intriguing character trait without making things too blatant.

Brian Cox plays a very unique Hannibal Lector. While my personal preference is Anthony Hopkins' more menacing image, I thought Cox still did a fantastic job.

Tom Noonan's performance is chilling and intimidating. The film is powered by not only the performances and proficient direction, but the right script is also vital. The dialogue was sometimes convoluted but becomes easier to decipher when you watch the production multiple times. This dialogue is realistic; however I would have preferred some lines that were easier to understand.

At first I thought that there were a number of useless dialogue scenes. With closer inspection I realised that these were pivotal scenes to include in order to get into the mind of the characters.

Manhunter is a film with very few flaws. Mann is a director who rarely delivers a faulty product. Definitely worth seeing!