Manhunter

Today marks a very creepy start to a series of films about the most diabolical cannibal himself, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. We all know about “The Silence of the Lambs,” but I’m not going to review that today. That will be saved for tomorrow. Today I will be reviewing a film that is overlooked at times, and is actually Lecter’s very first appearance on screen. It’s none other than the 1986 film directed by the wrecking force, Michael Mann, himself, “Manhunter.”

William Petersen plays our main anti-hero Will Graham. He portrays Petersen as a sick mind that barely made it over to being good. Even still he’s constantly tight-roping it. He doesn’t seem like a well person and deep down inside he knows that just like how he can easily become like one of those mental guys he brought in. You get the feeling that he is actually diving into the killer’s mind, almost like he is disgustingly enjoying it. Because of this, Petersen comes across as more tortured and complex. You can easily see him going off the deep end at any moment. He literally starts to get scared when Lector tells him that they are similar, just like an erratic mind would. It would make sense that something like that would get to him. He has a sick twisted mind that makes it interesting to watch.

Francis Dolarhyde, who also goes by the name “The Tooth Fairy,” is played by Tom Noonan in this film. His tragedy is more hinted at in this film and not really shown why he is the way he is. He’s left more in the shadow, which makes him come across as more creepy and unpredictable. Most of his scenes don’t have music playing in the background. It just lets the suspense and mystery of his actions insert fear into the situation. The less you know what he is thinking, the more irregular and frightening he is. But he still has that level of power that is needed as well, and you do see the pain he is going through that isn’t explained through words. It’s explained in the forms of visuals and music. That plays pretty strong in a film.

Brian Cox as Lecter actually has a very different and surprisingly affective take on the role compared to the much more popular Anthony Hopkins role in the later films. Cox is a fast talker, obnoxious, a jerk, but he also manages to get inside your head in a very short amount of time. It’s frightening since he is a guy who has you pagead the minute you walk in, and uses that almost immediately to start controlling you. Half of the time you want to hurt the man. There’s not much of Lecter in this film, but just how Michael Mann did with “The Tooth Fairy,” there’s little music, little shadow, and the scare value comes from the performance and the inconsiderate reality of the situation.

Graham’s wife, Molly, is played by Kim Greist, and their son, Kevin, is played by David Seaman. This movie devotes entire scenes to how this connection is all affecting their lives. Especially in the scene when Will confesses to Kevin the suffering of a sick mind and what it means to live with it. This is a very strong moment. The relationship with the family is important in this film. More of the family interacting is seen here.

Stephen Lang as the nosy reporter is also a lot of fun.

Dennis Farina plays great as Jack Crawford, as well as the other detectives.

Joan Allen as Reba McClane, the blind girl dating “The Tooth Fairy,” is cool in this role. It’s a little rushed in the romance though. The idea is he falls in love with a woman and his psychotic killer mind doesn’t know how to handle it. When the attempt to kill her comes in this film, it’s just another typical murder.

You could argue that the ending in this film did keep it mostly in a three-act structure. Will just fights “The Tooth Fairy” off and that’s it. The rest of the two stories actually followed similarly to the book this film is based off of. You could follow this film ok, but a lot of the stuff goes by before you know it. For example, there is only one line when they searched Lecter’s cell and didn’t want him to know. The film looks good, but the visuals are more beaches and a lot of blank walls. There is that weird backdrop in “The Tooth Fairy’s” house, but I don’t get it. All of this contributes to telling the story more fluently and providing a more natural narrative.

If you haven’t checked this film out yet, you should. You don’t have to necessarily, but I think you should if you have seen the other Lecter films.

Well, there’s my review of Michael Mann’s “Manhunter.” It’s definitely a film that you should watch around Halloween time since it does have a lot of scare value. Especially the scenes where there isn’t any music.

But what can be said about the other films with the more popular Anthony Hopkins in the role of Lecter? Find out tomorrow when I start the more famous films in my “Lecter-a-thon.”