ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

HANNIBAL LECTER is one of the great monster figures of contemporary cinema, but the more we learn about him the less chilling he becomes.

Taking its cue from the recent novel, ‘Hannibal Rising’ returns to Lecter’s childhood to reveal the grisly wartime events that warped his mind and set him on the road to a lifetime of murder.

The result is a lurid, elegantly mounted melodrama that strips away a little more of the character’s mystique by changing him from madman to avenging angel.

Hannibal is the hero of a tale that starts in wartime Lithuania. Fleeing from the Nazis, Hannibal (Aaron Thomas) and his young sister Mischa (Helena Lia Tachovska) watch in horror as their parents are killed.

Soon they are at the mercy of ruthless soldiers led by the truly evil Grutas, played with evident relish by Rhys Ifans. Desperate hunger leads to the unthinkable as Mischa is butchered and eaten.

Hannibal survives, and the story continues eight years later with the future serial killer now effectively played by the suave Gaspard Ulliel. Hannibal eventually makes his way to France where his widowed aunt Lady Murasaki (Gong Li) becomes his mentor as he prepares to take revenge on the men who killed his sister.

Director Peter Webber is the man who made ‘Girl With A Pearl Earring’, and he ensures that ‘Hannibal Rising’ is a handsome looking and extremely violent production. It is a decent, intriguing prequel, but after Brian Cox in ‘Manhunter’ and three helpings of Anthony Hopkins, you do wonder if you can have too much of a bad thing.

Director: Peter Webber
Stars: Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Dominic West, Kevin McKidd,
Aaron Thomas, Helena Lia Tachovska
Screenwriter: Thomas Harris based on his novel
Certificate: 18
Running time: 117 mins
Country: USA/Italy
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2007