Hannibal (2013 series)

Considering the monumental success that the 1991 horror thriller, The Silence of the Lambs, received when it came out, no other project based around material from author Thomas Harris has been as successful. Whether this is a credit to Jonathan Demme’s directing skills, or a discredit to Harris’ other books (which were not as well received), no other adaptation was able to make as big a splash, with films like  Manhunter and Red Dragon (both based around the same story) doing fair at best from a critical standpoint but not gaining much notoriety, and movies like Hannibal Rising and the Ridley Scott film version of Hannibal being considered embarrassments for the franchise. With this in mind, one project that did manage to stand out from amongst the crowd and garner a favorable reception from both audiences and critics, was the psychological horror-thriller series, Hannibal, created in 2013. FBI Profiler Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy) is called into the lion’s den by head of Behavioral Sciences, Jack Crawford (played by Laurence Fishburne) to help investigate brutal murders due to his strong ability to empathize and respectively ‘’get into the minds’’ of the killers. Seeing how this could mentally break Will, Jack assigns forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (played by Mads Mikkelsen) to watch over him and prevent him from falling to the dark side. However, this will prove difficult as Hannibal is himself a sadistic cannibalistic killer who is responsible for a number of the murders Jack and Will are searching for and is hiding in plain sight in order to worm his way into the FBI and has grown very interested in Will, hoping to see him pushed over the edge and become the killer he fears he could grow to be. As more bodies keep piling up, more murderers keep showing their hand, and Will and Hannibal continue to spend time together and actively ‘’feed’’ into each other desires, this bizarre friendship (and maybe even something closer) develops further and further as this bloody rabbit hole continues to get messy. Lasting three seasons, Hannibal got a cult following with many declaring it one of the best horror series and even one of the best shows ever made. As a whole package, the show does have a lot of strong elements going for it like some of its scene work, ideas, visuals and particularly its actors, but it is also lacking in parts especially in regard to its direction, writing, pacing, and characters.

What makes this show different from other adaptations of Harris’ novels is that this one is more of an amalgam of each of his stories rather than something based on a specific story. It contains aspects and ideas from each of the core stories and bases its main focus around hinted information provided from them, acting almost like an alternate universe to the expected events used to explore the dynamic between two integral characters rather than a flat-out prequel. The benefit to this is that it allows the story to be a bit more free-forming and less restricted to specific outcomes, meaning it doesn’t have to go down a predictable root and that it can appeal to those who either do or don’t know anything about Harris’ work. However, the execution of what is honestly a pretty decent show idea of showing the relationship build between Will and Hannibal in an episodic crime-thriller environment, can be a little wonky at times and doesn’t come close to reaching the level of complexities that this idea and even this franchise requires. The creator for this series, Bryan Fuller, was known for working on shows like Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies, American Gods, and would become the co-creator of the 2017 series, Star Trek: Discovery. He clearly had a passion and desire to lead this story in a direction that was faithful to its source material without forgetting that it was its own creation, but it feels like he might not have been the best choice to lead and even help write this story. While the show does to its credit capture the unique tone of the Harris stories in being grotesque and creepily real yet bathed in this fantastical elegant glow, it feels like it can be a little aimless at times, which ironically comes from it not having a specific source material to act as a timeline of events. The first season seems to struggle with this the most, with an opening act that has a good main narrative thread of Will and Hannibal’s relationship along with their connection to a teen girl who was almost murdered by her psychotic father, but the pace feels too rapid which leaves little room for things to breath, the murders they focus on can feel a little ‘’CSI’’ in many ways and a little fabricated, the characters lack backstory, context and even in many ways personality, and it didn’t feel like it provided anything that substantially impactful to story of this franchise that people couldn’t have gotten from basic context clues. With that said, the introduction of searching for a figure known as the Chesapeake Ripper is where things start to click a bit better for the show, which can be felt within the second season where it becomes a little more engaging, a little more fine-tuned in the story structure, and the acting and visuals continue to be strong enough. Despite this, it is still riddled with a slow pacing, bland characters, and limp narrative purpose, with many of the episodes in this season being well done but feeling rather hollow outside of the season finale which provides a nice losing note. Season 3 feels the most aimless yet ironically the most put-together, as it feels like the team have managed to secure a stable direction, yet the flow of the story is so segmented and so much like it’s trying to rush out expected plot points from the source material that it kills any sense of narrative fulfillment when it completes. While the directing for this series flip-flops in terms of quality throughout, there is a general sense of effectiveness throughout that never lets the series stoop to extremely poor levels at least, but rather it just falters in how it commands the story, what it decides to give focus to, how much time is dedicated to that specific element, and how satisfactory that outcome will be.

The cast for this series should be applauded not just for the amount of fairly talented individuals that it gets throughout its entire length, but also for how it managed to update and diversify the cast to fit a broader appeal without it feeling too distracting. Many characters change race and are even gender-swapped, but it feels perfectly natural given how talented most of these actors are and it’s safe to say that they are one of the main reasons this show is as popular as it is. Most of the actors are pretty good throughout the whole show, and whether playing familiar roles already showcased on film or fresh new faces that have either been completely transformed or have just never shown up, they manage to bring their own spin that doesn’t feel like a replication of someone else. From the first few episodes up until the end, you can feel that Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter are the only two characters that these show runners really care about, which comes with its own pros and cons. The positive is that it gives the chance for both of them to feel the most fleshed out and have the strongest relationship. Watching these two people of similar minds contend back and forth with each other to the point that this strange almost romantic infatuation blooms that prevents one from existing without the other creates this fun dynamic where both simultaneously wish to kill and also stay with each other. This comes through the very impressive acting jobs by both Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, both of whom bring that steady yet deceptively sketchy attitude that makes their roles somewhat endearing yet also carry this shade of unhinged darkness that makes it clear neither is really someone worth rooting for. Sadly, their dynamic becomes a little repetitive and even a little confusing as the show continues as nothing about their relationship truly evolves to a state that feels different from how it started, but the acting from both of them is solid enough to not feel too disappointed. However, the problem with giving so much time to these two is that it comes at the expense of the rest of the cast, who barely feel like they stand out as characters. The writing for this series has quite a few holes in it in terms of narrative structure and fleshing out its characters, but one of its worst elements is how it can get easily sidetracked and completely disregard a previously established plot point, which is usually something involving a supporting role. Laurence Fishburne brings a dignified swagger that is absolutely perfect for this role and world and he does great per usual, yet he is given very little to do outside of the standard police chief archetype, which can also be said for the sub-plot involving his dying wife, Bella (played by Gina Torres) who is equally strong in her small part, yet is so minute in the story that she disappears for good chunks and leaves with almost no fanfare. Caroline Dhavernas as the character of Alana Bloom is particularly frustrating, with the show having seemingly no idea what to do with her outside of using her as a romantic partner, limiting a pretty solid actress to a very small participant. Gillian Anderson seems to have a great role as the psychiatrist of Hannibal Lecter, yet despite how clearly juicy and fun that could be, she also falls into nothing more than a tool for romance, despite Anderson also doing quite a good job. Actresses like Hettienne Park, Lara Jean Chorostecki and especially Kacy Rohl are good actors and have good set ups for characters yet are used so sparingly and actively forgotten about throughout the show that it honestly just feels like a waste. However, amongst each season, there have been a few shining stars that have managed to leave their mark, with Eddie Izzard as an institutionalized criminal who believes he’s the Chesapeake Ripper providing a nice playfully psychotic creepiness against the more traditional killers, Raúl Esparza as an administrator of a mental hospital whose more than willing to bank on the popularity of his patients provides for a nice morally grey character, and Tao Okamoto as an old family associate of Hannibal stands as an incredibly brief but still memorably cool character.

The look of the show definitely feels like its TV quality in many ways, but you can feel a lot of the production crew doing their best to make it look as nice and polished as possible. Although you can feel sometimes the limited scope of certain elements of this series like the repeated locations and nice but still cramped cinematography, there is effort from said cinematographers, James Hawkinson and Karim Hussain, to try and capture a sophisticated and cinematic appeal to these visuals that can elevate the show to feel more akin to how they have been portrayed in previous film versions. The specific ways many people are killed and ‘’presented’’ do feel grizzly enough to be unnerving, but still theatrical enough to be distinct to this franchise, and while some of the more fanciful shots can become a little repetitive at times (there are a lot of close-up slow mo/reverse shots), it does still result in a nice-looking project. The musical score by Brian Reitzell follows a similar pattern in combining the horrific with the beautiful with a composition that combines the elegance and grace of classical music with the chaotic and heart-pounding element of melody-less music with an almost tribal element of percussive instrumentation, it’s a decently handled score. The dialogue at times can feel a little unrealistic with how everybody speaks in an overly analytical manner that never actually feels like real human dialogue, but there are a few moments throughout that do capture that engaging form of dialogue that isn’t the most realistic but is engaging regardless.

Hannibal is very well regarded by those that watched it when it came out and many are still willing to see it continue on past this point considering how anti-climactic and forcibly rushed its ending was. While talks did occur in 2019 with Fuller acquiring the filming rights to Silence of the Lambs to do his own take on the story, no real discussions have come from that since, and despite both Fuller and the cast seeming willing to continue the story, it’s hard to say if that will ever happen or not. Regardless, Hannibal can stand proud as one of the only other material based on Thomas Harris’ stories to be mostly well received all around, but even then, this still isn’t a perfect series. It feels like it was so obsessed with this singular idea that it didn’t really think through how the rest of the narrative would flow with it, which results in an uneven pacing, messily handled script, poor supporting roles, and an overall feeling of pointlessness in regard to what it offers to the story of Hannibal Lecter. With that said though, the performances are strong, the technicals are sound, the writing has its nice spots, and while the visuals can be weird for the sake of being weird at times (the deer man thing gets no explanation at all), it does still look nice. Not the gourmet meal that was previously served up on a fine Oscar-winning platter but acts a nice fancy snack to chow down on.