Well, this certainly was a surprise. The announcement that NBC was going to make a TV show based on pop culture's most famous mass murdering cannibal Hannibal Lecter was met, understandably, with groans. The series would be set before he ever got caught too, a redundant idea given that even my Nan knows that Doctor Lecter is not a nice man. Public favour was certainly against it, and yet it surprises by being a show that is not only worth your time but worthy of having the Hannibal name attached to it.
Smartly, show-runner Bryan Fuller isn't interested in why Lecter has such specific culinary tastes but rather how the FBI finally figured out they had a monster right under their noses. Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs) is absent here replaced by Will Graham, the main character from Red Dragon. When we first meet Graham in Thomas Harris' novel he is a nervous wreck and retired from law enforcement. Hannibal takes us into Graham's early years as much as it does our villain's. We learn why Graham left the FBI and his overwhelming reticence at returning to the fold, as well as his relationship with Lecter.
When watching the pilot I disliked Hugh Dancy's Graham. Much like Hugh Laurie in House, I couldn't get past what I thought was a British actor struggling with an American accent, but in fact further episodes reveal a man who is tortured, both physically and mentally. His role really grows on you despite his heroism being all but gone by halfway through the season's run. In earlier incarnations Jack Crawford (here played by Laurence Fishburne) has been more of a friend/mentor but Fuller makes the most of having Fishburne, transforming the character into a more manipulative and fragile man. It adds a real layer to the drama knowing the pillar Graham is supposed to rely on is as uninterested with his well-being as his psychiatrist.
Which brings us to the man himself. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is best known to the Western world as LeChiffre in Casino Royale (2006), which perhaps telegrams to the audience his obvious villainy based on Mads' casting alone. The strange thing is, it doesn't. His Hannibal is not as campy as Anthony Hopkins' iterations became, in fact there is a lot of warmth to his take. The friendship with Graham feels very authentic, which makes it all the harder to watch when you realise this is all an act and part of Lecter's grander plan. He is also a far more physical presence than previous incarnations, and the eventual clash between Lecter and Graham has delicious and horrifying potential to it.
There are downfalls. As gorgeous as this show looks (and it looks utterly sumptuous) the world of law enforcement feels fantastical here given that every room has apparently had a million dollars spent on its furnishings. Also the format is worn. As interesting as these characters and the setting are, the show is stuck in a rigid 'serial-killer-of-the-week' format. The potential for something a little more involving wouldn't have gone amiss, but this is quibbling. The show is remarkably daring (its first season concludes on a phenomenal end note), well acted and unafraid to explore the darker possibilities of having a serial killer at its centre. Not for the squeamish, but absolutely for everyone else.
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