Hannibal Rising
One Word Summary: Dark
In 1944 Lithuania, the wealthy Lecter family retreats from their castle to a secluded cabin to escape the war around them. What befalls them is a horrifyingly violent ordeal which transforms young Hannibal Lecter into a vengeful, brooding killer. When he has grown up and begun to study medicine, Hannibal begins to hunt down the men who scarred his childhood with a vicious intent to make them pay, all the while being carefully watched by an inspector sympathetic to his experience.Obviously any actor who attempts to portray Hannibal Lecter has a supreme challenge ahead of him, given the incomparable grandeur of Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning performance (Brian Cox actually played Hannibal in 1986’s “Manhunter,” and he did too a commendable job). Gaspard Ulliel seems to be trying his very best, and the writing is much more at fault than his acting efforts. Gong Li is unimpressive and missable as his aunt, who realizes his revenge-driven quest and chooses to aid rather than subdue him. Dominic West is also the victim of terrible writing, and his character comes across as a hapless cop rather than respectable, conflicted detective. Rhys Ifans, while a bizarre choice to portray a ruthless villain, does as good a job as can be expected for the character that has been written. The cast are unable, however, to act as a compelling whole.
The Bottom Line is that Peter Webber’s “Hannibal Rising” is an excessively dark film which should be taken entirely separately from the other Hannibal Lecter films. The film feels long and suffers mostly from dismal writing and meager performances.
