Hannibal (TV Series) 2013

Hannibal (TV Series) 2013

Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter.

"You are wearing a very well tailored person suit....Less of a person suit and more of a human veil."  -Dr. Du Maurier (Dr. Lecter's psychiatrist, played by Gillian Anderson) to Lecter

Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), asking about the Chesapeake Ripper, who they don't know is actually Dr. Hannibal Lecter: Tell me how you see The Ripper, Will.
Will Graham: I see him as one of those pitiful things sometimes born in hospitals. They feed it, keep it warm, but they don't put it on machines. They let it die. But he doesn't die. He looks normal. Nobody can tell what he is.

It's not a movie, but the new Hannibal TV show (set prior to The Red Dragon) links back to one of the movies I reviewed: A Royal Affair (http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2013/02/2012-royal-affair.html).  Not to be confused with the movie Hannibal, which I have no interest in seeing, as I know the story and feel it destroys the Clarice Starling character.  The show revolves around Will Graham, who is assisting Jack Crawford in hunting down killers with the help of renowned psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

I've been watching the show, and am torn about it.  Firstly, it is too gruesome for my taste.  I feel like I can handle quite a bit after watching Fargo, Saving Private Ryan, No Country for Old Men...well, let's just say that a lot of the movies I have reviewed were pretty bloody.  But even going into it with my usual "I know this isn't real, so it doesn't bother me" attitude, I tend to end up looking away or even covering my eyes.  I don't really think that that much violence is necessary.  In The Silence of the Lambs, when Chilton explains to Clarice why she must avoid getting too close to Lecter, we get the picture even though we don't actually see what Clarice sees:

"Do not touch or approach the glass.  You pass him nothing but soft paper.  No pencils or pens.  No staples or paperclips in his paper.  Use the sliding food carrier.  If he attempts to pass you anything, do not accept it...I am going to show you why we insist on such precautions.  On the evening of July 8th, 1981, he complained of chest pains and was taken to the dispensary.  His mouthpiece and restraints were removed for an EKG.  When the nurse leaned over him, he did this to her.  The doctors managed to reset her jaw more or less.  Saved one of her eyes.  His pulse never got above 85, even when he ate her tongue."

In fact, I think it's actually more chilling that we don't see anything.  The new show wants to show everything, which is more gross than scary.  Will Graham (In this case played by Hugh Dancy), when visiting a crime scene, gets into the psyche of the killer and imagines himself as the murderer, reenacting the murder in his mind.  This is particularly violent given that in the show there so many sadistic killers with a theatrical streak -I mean, every week a killer who kills and poses their victims in such disturbing ways?

Hugh Dancy as Will Graham.

My second issue is with Hugh Dancy as Will Graham.  I like Hugh Dancy as an actor, but the decision to have Graham portrayed as such a mess in this show isn't working for me (Tyler seconds these feelings).  Edward Norton's Will Graham, dark and disturbed but still able to function socially and professionally, feels more true to the character (http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1991-silence-of-lambs.html).  Hugh Dancy's Graham is very jittery, lives alone in a house full of stray dogs, and seems on the verge of a breakdown.

The best part about the show is Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Hannibal Lecter.  He was an inspired choice for the part.  He perfectly captures the charm and horror of the Lecter character.  At times he seems quite likeable, but at the same time you know that that likeability is a facade, and that underneath is a devious monster.  Mikkelsen's voice really brings Anthony Hopkins to mind, as do his mannerisms (Similarly, Raul Esparaza as Dr. Chilton was uncannily similar to his predecessor in the role, Anthony Heald).  Tyler also pointed out the added menace of Mikkelsen's younger Lecter: he has all of the danger of the brilliant but evil Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, with the added danger of him being younger and stronger.  I have to admit that I've had a couple of nights where I've had a bit of a hard time sleeping after watching his performance.

A Royal Affair.

Now, when I look back on The Royal Affair, in which Mads Mikkelsen plays the romantic lead, Dr. Struensee, I get the heebie jeebies.  I feel like at any moment he could turn from friendly, mild mannered Struensee into a killer and murder and eat poor Carolina Mathilda.