Charismatic Cannibalism - Hannibal
Gruesome, Gory, Glorious - a spoiler free retrospective of one of my favourite tv shows in recent years
I have always been a fan of Hannibal - I’ve not read the books although they are firmly on my to-read list, I love Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal (the original movie) and Red Dragon. I’ll admit - I’ve never got round to watching the first film outing of Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter, but again, it’s another one that I’ve got on my list.
Bryan Fuller’s revisionist take on the source material, now set in ‘modern’ times - cell phones, sleek minimalist police offices, Hannibal Lecter’s kitchen - a dream kitchen containing all the gadgets and expensive appliances that an experimental amateur chef requires. In a role that conjures up memories of Antony Hopkins in a muzzle, or stood menacingly in a stone and glass cell, Mads Mikkelson at the time seemed like an unlikely candidate to step into the cannibalistic shoes of Hannibal. But Bryan Fuller’s vision of Hannibal wasn’t like anything that came before it.
High-end campy, polished and highly stylish, each of the 39 episodes titled after world cuisine, the first series French, second series Italian and the final series Japanese, unlike previous outings for Hannibal, the cannibalism is front and centre stage - Silence of the Lambs left the cannibalism hanging in the air, never depicting it, in Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal - we have beautifully choreographed cooking montages in a kitchen with morgue-like lighting, some of the most engaging scenes in any tv show. And yes, just in case you were wondering, those aren’t pigs hearts…and yes, you might want to skip any meat-based courses during one of Hannibal’s hosted dinner parties. It also dives head first into the facet of Hannibal that makes him terrifying - he’s a world class manipulator; capable of breaking people, nurturing them, making people do and feel exactly how he wants them to before he finally uses them for his own enjoyment. He’s extremely intelligent, not just one step ahead; often a whole marathon ahead of others. He develops an all-consuming relationship with Will Graham, expertly played by Hugh Darcy who is wiry, spiked and brittle as the FBI profiler. They mirror each other, their behaviours, thought patterns, the only thing that makes them different is that Will doesn’t act on his dark thoughts. Well - sort of.
The thing that differentiates Hannibal from its predecessors, from most other narratives you find in tv shows - there are heavily blurred lines that come with an audience requirement of just letting go. The narrative twists and turns, it’s been designed to put audiences in the same viewpoint as Will Graham. We’re supposed to be abhorred by Hannibal, but we also are grotesquely fascinated, enamoured and charmed by him. It does help that Mads Mikkelson is uniquely positioned as an actor, tall and lean combined with a softness in his voice (in part due to his danish accent). He consistently cements his on-screen presence with a reserved and quiet charm that makes Hannibal come to life; the sophisticated connotations of Hannibal’s career choice, his stylish living arrangements all make perfect backdrops for free-flowing violence and extreme gore.
One area that comes up consistently with Hannibal fan-talk is the deeply complex relationship between Hannibal and Will. It transcends any label of sexuality, there is a cosmic desire between the two that seems so innate, so tied to their personas. It’s depicted that they are two sides of the same coin, a primal impulsion to explore the darker parts of their own psyches. And they find each other, to challenge that, explore themselves and in spite of Will Graham being virtually the only character early on who cottons on to Hannibal’s true nature, he finds himself back in close proximity to Hannibal time and time again. By the culmination of series 3, and unfortunately what looks to be the end of Hannibal (for now) it’s made clear that neither Hannibal or Will can survive without the other.
Set in Maryland, Minnesota and later on in Italy - quite dangerous places to live when Hannibal is about, the gruesome and extremely graphic gore requires a firm suspension of disbelief. Hannibal and the various serial killers we come across in the shows three series run have higher body counts than Game of Thrones, and the deaths are far more grotesque. Each crime scene begins to resemble fantastical dark art - choreography and theatre underpinning scenes of gore, we see Will Graham’s unique ability to decode scenes of death, mutilation and violence in chilling detail. From an audience perspective, these scenes are something to behold. Building on the flayed prison guard in Silence of the Lambs (to which there are numerous nods to this in the tv show) we see totems of heads woven with floral displays, spliced bodies in formaldehyde, very literal and visceral orchestration of cello players, the list goes on. Whatever they are paying Will Graham and his cohort of FBI investigators and analysts, it’s clearly not enough. It is extremely violent, and extremely gruesome, but if you can stomach it, the pay off with Hannibal is satisfying.
Hannibal does it lose it’s way from time-to-time, the plot lines with Mason Verger feel a little rushed - although an exceptionally terrifying performance is delivered by Michael Pitt (who supposedly was booted from the show for being demanding and hard work), and I do feel that the narrative arc of Will Graham going to Italy to continue his hunt of Hannibal never really comes to a satisfying conclusion - it feels a bit scruffy and messy at times. Whilst it has it’s flaws, I find myself always going back to Hannibal - particularly when I get asked for recommendations, there is something about Hannibal that has stuck with me, whether it’s the modern gothic set designs, the completely unhinged characters, the horror of it all. With its 3 season run time (39 episodes all in) it’s a fairly quick watch and if you’re looking for something to satisfy a gap of ‘oh my god’ tv, then Hannibal will fill that gap, and then some. And hopefully, some tv producers will hear the cries of Hannibal fans online, and pick up where we left off. Despite being cancelled prematurely, I can assure you that the tv show gives you a satisfying, compelling cliff hanger ending that doesn’t leave you feeling cheated.
Hannibal is now streaming on Netflix