6
'Thursday, February 15, 2001
'Hannibal' Serves Up Gore, Poor Characterization
By Michael Woods
Staff Writer
As one of the most graphic scenes in
film history squeals to a close, Dr.
Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins)
pulls in close to Special Agent Clarice
Starling (Julianne Moore) and delivers
a classic line.
“I came
halfway around
the world to watch
you run, Clarice.
Will you let me
run?”
,
/reP/ew/
"Hannibal"
★★★
Starling’s response is never really in
question. But the moment might have
been suspenseful had the quandary
been posed to Ridley Scott, the director
of “Hannibal.”
In adapting Thomas Harris’ novel,
Scott succeeds in resurrecting Dr. Lecter
but fails to create an atmosphere equal
to that of “The Silence of the Lambs.”
For those who have yet to hear the
lambs cry, a brief summation: the criti
cally acclaimed “Silence,” released in
1991, introduced FBI trainee Starling.
She was assigned to track down a serial
killer who took the idiom “you are what
you wear” a little too seriously.
Starling, then played by Academy
Award-winner Jodie Foster, visited
incarcerated cannibalistic murderer Dr.
Lecter to learn more about the new
killer and ended up trading pieces of
her life story for details about the case.
“Hannibal” picks up their stories a
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Anthony Hopkins reprises his Oscar-winning role as Hannibal Lecter
in "Hannibal," the horrific sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs."
decade later. Starling, now a hardened
veteran of the FBI, is being publicly
flayed for her involvement in a botched
drug raid, while Hannibal has relocated
to Florence, Italy, where he is vying for
DIVERSIONS
a position as a museum curator.
Starling receives a letter from Dr.
Lecter, and the parcel attracts the atten
tion of Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), a
wealthy and influential recluse. Verger,
who managed to survive a bad date
with Dr. Lecter and is obsessed with
exacting vengeance, decides to use
Starling as bait to recapture him.
To this point, “Hannibal” is a painful
ly clumsy spectacle. Once Hopkins
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finally graces the screen, the audience
feels more relieved than excited.
Things pick up as Dr. Lecter is pur
sued by Detective Pazzi (Giancarlo
Giannini) in Italy. Hopkins’ scenes with
Giannini are the film’s most compelling
because Pazzi’s interaction with Dr.
Lecter feels fresh.
A genuine tension permeates this
portion of the movie and recaptures
some of the intensity of “Silence.”
Sadly, Pazzi doesn’t have the guts to
hang with the sophisticated sociopath
for very' long.
After eluding capture in Florence,
Dr. Lecter disappears until Starling is
threatened, courtesy of Verger’s Justice
Department lackey, Paul Krendler (Ray
Liotta).
The remainder of “Hannibal” is
exceptional only in the amount of
grotesque violence Scott manages to
cram into 40 minutes. Scott doesn’t fail
to adapt the horror of the novel to the
screen so much as he neglects to adapt
the characters to the violence.
By failing to develop, or even to
include, some of the more powerful
characters from the novel - Verger,
Krendler, and Starling especially - Scott
resigns “Hannibal” to being a tour de
force for Sir Anthony.
Fortunately, Hopkins is as stunning
as he was a decade ago, but the support
isn’t there. Moore is a poor substitute
for Foster. Her acting lacks depth, leav
ing Starling limp and making it impos
sible to become attached to her story.
Sadly, the innocence and subdety that
made “Silence of the Lambs” com
pelling is hopelessly lost.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can
be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
Film Flaunts Cheap Humor,:,
Revealingly Clad Actress
By David Povill
Staff Writer
It’s a story as old as time itself. Guy
meets girl. Guy proposes to girl. Guy’s
friends kidnap girl.
Oh yeah, guy and guy’s friends idol-
ize Neil Diamond.
Well, maybe it’s
not the most tradi
tional love story,
but it’s the story of
“Saving
/renew
"Saving Silverman"
★★★
Silverman,” the new comedy from
director Dennis Dugan - the very same
man who brought us such juvenile
favorites as “Happy Gilmore” and “Big
Daddy.”
The movie stars America’s favorite
dessert-sodomizing loser, Jason Biggs, as
Darren Silverman, the patsy with the
heart of gold. He falls for Judith, a dom
ineering, manipulative demon of a
fiancee, played by Amanda Peet
Spicing up the story are Silverman’s
two best buddies, Wayne and J.D.,
brought to life by the consistently hilar
ious Steve Zahn (“Happy, Texas”) and
Jack Black (“High Fidelity”), respective
>y-
As mentioned, the duo attempts to
rescue their friend from a life of marital
servitude by kidnapping Judith, tying
her up in their garage and making her
wear extremely revealing clothing
throughout the entire movie (the last
part may have been the producer’s idea,
actually).
The movie has already been
slammed by critics for its uncanny
resemblance to “There’s Something
About Mary,” coupled with its allegedly
more offensive and more juvenile
humor. Many argue that whereas
“Mary”’s humor was good-natured,
“Silverman”’s is tasteless and misogy
nistic.
It’s a tough call. Yes, some of the gags
do have a Mary-esque odor to them,
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and yes, some of the jokes will piss off,
some people, but to say that “Mary”’s
frank-and-beans jokes are any less taste
less than “Silverman”’s flaming nipples
gags is to kiss the Farrelly brothers’ asses
undeservedly. “Mary” did have a certain •
indescribable charm to it, but let’s call a ■
spade a spade here. Jizz-in-the-hair
scenes are still jizz-in-the-hair scenes -
no more, no less.
Arguments aside, “Silverman,” like
“Mary,” will leave you with a guilty
stitch in your side from all those shame
ful laughs.
As for the writing, the script is for
mulaic and predictable. There’s the
obligatory retro-reference, in this case to
Neil Diamond, that piles on the kitsch
with so-stupid-you-have-to-laugh jokes
(like Diamond himself noting as they
approach America Avenue, “We’re
coming to America”).
There’s the goofy buddy humor of
Zahn and Black, which, though terribly
underutilized, still accounts for nearly
93 percent of the film’s laughs.
There’s the not-so-surprising happy;
ending of the obvious couple, the
unlikely couple, and the ridiculous cou
ple, ala “Billy Madison” and “Happy
Gilmore.”
The only real surprise is that, with all
this predictability, I still laughed my ass
off. Be warned, however - I’m not too,
proud to say that I also loved “Billy,
Madison,” so judge accordingly.
If cheap gags, slapstick humor and
borderline offensive jokes aren’t your
thing, you might want to skip
“ Silverman.” It’s the intellectual equiva
lent of “America’s Funniest Home)
Videos.”
But for those who can appreciate the)
simple pleasures of a good baseball-bat
to-the-crotch clip, “Saving Silverman” is,
a must-see.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor
can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu: