Then as production got spun up I heard bits of news that gave me hope. The production company was asking Thomas Harris for his input. The casting sounded better every time I looked and the show was being produced and directed by David Slade, who had done "30 days of night." which is one of my favorite films of the last few years.
But still this was big three network television. So I figured they'd find some sort of way to mess this up.
To my utter shock they got it right. Very Very right, Horribly wonderfully right.
Lets start with the casting. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen got the title role and he inhabits it well. His take on lector is a far more subtle one. But then this is the intellectual cannibalistic gourmet chef psychiatrist Hannibal, not the one we saw in the films who had spent long periods locked in a mental hospital. His Hannibal Lecter is dark, quiet, friendly and polite to a fault, we all know the menace underneath but everyone else just sees it as professional detachment.
I should point out there are a lot of scenes of people eating and hints as to what Hannibal is preparing for them. One dinner scene in particular involving a high society dinner that he is hosting is made both interesting by the sub text of the people not knowing what their meal is, and horrifying for seeing Hannibal enjoy the spectacle of all of these people unknowingly enjoying his favorite.
The part of Will Grahm was given to British actor Hugh Dancy, who makes Will a dysfunctional teacher of forensic psychology. The polar opposite of Lecters sociopath Will suffers from far too much empathy, seeing motivations of everyone around him. His efforts to build walls socially is how he survives the day to day world, but as he gets more involved in field work that veneer gets thinner by the moment.
Laurence Fishburn plays Grahms boss Jack Crawford. A seasoned investigator that is willing to push Grahm far past his limits to close a case. Not knowing or perhaps not caring about how he is damaging him or how he might lose his best resource.
The plot of the show begins with a case that is mentioned passingly in the books. A serial murderer in Minnesotta name Gareth Jacob Hobbes. Graham discovers Hobbes is the serial killer and kills him in a tense and terrifying scene of carnage where Hobbes murders his wife and nearly kills his daughter.
It's the daughter Abigail that becomes the center of one of the shows plots. Giving us a front row seat to the manipulations and games of Hannibal Lecter. A chance for the viewer to see how Hannibal molds the young lady after her fathers death into something he thinks more fitting, and in a very scary way he seems to have a genuine affection for her as he does it.
It's that feeling of being on the inside of a situation where you get a glimpse into the mind of Hannibal and his reasons for doing things that gives this show it's wonderful edge. In a sick way these people around him mean the world to Hannibal, and he feels the world needs to be adjusted his personal view of how it really works.
The writing of the show does a very good job of maintaining a meta plot, while at the same time giving us some really warped "Monsters of the week" for Will Graham and Jack Crawford to chase. It also gives all the characters, even the minor supporting ones enough polish to make them feel like real people rather than just supporting parts that need to be there.
The show itself, it has to be said is amazing in the level of violence, blood, torture and other carnage that takes place. It's like they turned up the volume on the level of carnage shown on screen just to show that they could. Several episodes of this show have more blood on the screen then in the whole run of CBS's "Criminal Minds". So if you're a fan of good old fashioned chunky salsa horror you will not be disappointed. The makeup effects are amazing, and the occasional use of CGI for some effects is really only noticeable if you've spent too much time editing video. (Like me.)
Final words. Hannibal was last years biggest and most pleasant surprise for me. Well written, well acted and pretty strong idea of what it is and where it's headed the show bowled me over. Season two begins on february 28th and I can't wait.
Links
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChunkySalsaRule
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