Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Ivan Marevich,
Aaron Thomas, Rhys Ifans
Written by Thomas Harris
Produced by Tarak Ben Ammar, Dino De Laurentiis
Certification US R | UK 18 | Australia MA
Runtime 117 minutes
Directed by Peter Webber
As with the book of the same name, Hannibal Rising is a prequel to the later stories, an explanation as to how the young Hannibal Lecter (Gaspard Ulliel) became that bastion of culture and serial killing we all know and, er, love. Sadly, the reasons proposed by Harris are a pretty straightforward mix of the psychological and the hell of war, rather than ‘a babysitter tried to test me once. I ate her liver with some baked beans and a nice Ribena…’
The story traces young H from sweet posh child to homicidal posh teenager, a metamorphosis inspired by an incident at the tale end of WWII. This is gradually revealed in flashback, although many will have sussed the twist a long time before it’s explained: that whole ‘cannibal’ element is a bit of a bleeding clue, frankly. With his parents dead, the Soviets in control and the words “bugger” and “all” looming large to describe what he has to look forward to, Hannibal flees Lithuania and winds in France, at the house of his uncle’s widow, the beautiful Lady Murasaki Shikibu (Gong Li).
Under her mysterious guidance and influence, and after practicing his head-removing skills on a few loose-tongued locals, Hannibal embarks on an elaborate revenge plan against the men he — semi-justifiably — holds responsible for what he has become.
Cleverly weaving in some dubious morality about war criminals — Hannibal is pursued by a police inspector (Dominic West), who’s keen to apply the law but, though his own experiences, has a great deal of empathy for Lecter’s activities — Hannibal Rising is actually much better than anticipated, a thriller of gothic appeal and unexpected intelligence. Sadly, Ulliel doesn’t quite bring Anthony Hopkins to mind, not least because he looks like Crispin Glover. There are times when you need to buy into Lecter’s inner turmoil but, instead, fell like you’re watching an episode of “When George McFly Goes Bad…”
It’s a shame because a lot of what’s on offer is disturbing and smart and, while not in the same league as Silence of the Lambs, it certainly gives Hannibal a run for its over-the-top money.