Hannibal, Season 1 Review

Hannibal, and you can bet this isn't a TV series based on the Carthagian commander of old (although that too would be worth a watch), it's a name synonymous with a brilliant psychiatrist turned serial killer with a certain appetite for human flesh. I was kind of familiar with the books by Thomas Harris but never sat down and read one through properly, it was in the incredible film The Silence of the Lambs that first introduced me to the Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Played to absolute perfection by the great Anthony Hopkins who gave a truly chilling yet mesmerising performance, despite being on screen for only 24 minutes or so, he really put the character on the map. Yet, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought of what lead up to him being incarcerated at Baltimore State Hospital? Peaking through his cage of a cell mocking Clarice Starling's Southern drawl or enjoying a census taker's liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. What was he like prior to being that infamous serial killer? What were his crimes exactly and how did he eventually get caught? These were juicy questions, then some years later I hear a buzz around my workplace about this show called Hannibal that explores the character's past and thought well I cant really refuse now can I?

True to their word, Hannibal is exactly that and I was immediately hooked within the first few episodes. It is a gripping and grisly (no shocker there) psychological thriller/horror series with a stellar cast and a really striking visual style that I haven't really seen on TV before. I literally watched about seven episodes in a single night which is quite rare for me, but it's so absorbing and thrilling that you can't help but lose yourself in it. The first season mainly follows gifted, but troubled criminal profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) who is cursed with a gift, he can see directly into the minds of serial killers often at the cost of his own sanity. He is asked by the head of the Behavioral Sciences division of the FBI Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) to assist in investigating the disappearances of several young girls. Inevitably, the bodycount starts to stack up and they get involved in some pretty bizarre and gruesome cases. Bringing Will Graham back into the field though poses risks to himself, namely his ability to directly empathise with killers so Jack Crawford enlists the help of none other than Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) to watch over Will and his mental state.  

The menu of the first season and it's main offerings: Will Graham, Dr Alana Bloom, Special Agent Jack Crawford, Special Agent Brian Zeller, journalist Freddie Lounds, Special Agent Beverly Katz, Special Agent Jimmy Price and Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

The Hannibal Lecter we meet in Hannibal is a calm, collected, cultured culinarian, a lover of the fine arts and an accomplished psychiatrist. You may know Hannibal Lecter, but you haven't seen him quite like this before, this is how he started out before his rise to notriety. Mads Mikkelsen really does bring a lot to the role, he oozes sophistication, charm and a razor-sharp intensity yet deep down under the veneer of this well-adjusted, intelligent, seemingly benign exterior is a monster lurking and waiting to pounce. The relationship between a vulnerable Will and Hannibal is at the heart of this show and the chemistry between them is perfect. You can really feel the tendrils of Hannibal's subtle psychological trickery slowly affecting Will, manipulating and influencing events, this is the Hannibal you know. I have to praise Hugh Dancy for taking on such a challenging role, he too captures Will's fragility and brilliance so well and his decent into the minds of these various killers is one of the highlights of the show. He has this unique insight into their methodology, possible motives and psychology, he can think like them and with all the consequences that come with that. You can see him slowly losing his grip on reality and of all the people to try to bring him back he has the most gifted serial killer of all to turn to, this makes for some truly compelling television.

Will sitting down with Dr. Lecter. As gruesome and weird as the cases become it's still all about these two. This criminal profiler whose discerning eye and mind can visualise and at times predict criminal behavior can't see the one sitting directly across from him...

The supporting cast are also great, you have the lovely Dr Alana Bloom who was a student of Hannibal's and a psychology professor who is also Will's colleague and friend. She has a certain affection for Will despite his issues and their relationship becomes tested throughout. Laurence Fishburne is also really good as Jack Crawford, a hard-nosed and assured leader who brings Will Graham back into field. You've got the gutsy journalist Freddie Lounds who like most journalists is the typical self-seeking opportunist, played by a woman this time around which I thought was an interesting choice but she nails the character. The FBI squad are also on hand to provide good banter with some comic relief here and there in what is quite an all-round serious show which is always welcome. It really captures the atmosphere of that nail-biting, goosebump-inducing psychological horror that The Silence of the Lambs did so well. Due to it's rather...explicit nature it won't be for everyone, for someone whose become somewhat desensitised to TV violence from watching shows like Game of Thrones, True Blood and American Horror Story, it still did disturb me at some parts. If you love gritty shows like Criminal Minds, Homeland, Dexter, The Following etc. then you'll definitely like Hannibal. 

The horror elements are like a delicate mix of Hitchcockian suspense with all the surrealist, macabre imagery that wouldn't look out of place in a David Lynch/Eli Roth film or a Stephen King novel. It's unique aesthetic, namely Will's reconstruction of a particular crime through the eyes and actions of the killers he is investigating is striking and very effective. The imagery is deliberately unsettling but intriguing and it draws you in right from the first episode. 

The Verdict
Hannibal is an engrossing and grisly blend of edgy psychological thriller and horror with a great cast and a unique style. It's suspenseful with some choking tension and packed with some memorable moments and a finale that will leave you hungry for more, I certainly can't wait to get stuck in to season two. This is a hidden gem that's unfortunately been somewhat overlooked in favour of some of the more mainstream shows, but there the ones who are missing out. You have an appointment with Dr Lecter, don't be late and this is not for the faint of heart, one of the best of shows on TV right now.

Interstellar Review

 

So with Interstellar director Christopher Nolan wanted to boldly go where he has not gone before. For it's apparent grandiosity and spectacle though, Interstellar might be Nolan's most personal film to date, using the wonderment and visual splendour of science merely as an effective vehicle to drive the very human core of the story. I guess I'd classify it more as a human drama set in space with some fanciful science exposition to weave it all together, and with all it's talk of interstellar travel, wormholes, black holes, Einstein's relativity, it's ultimately about one man's journey through literally space and time to save his daughter. If your looking for an epic all-out sci-fi action film then this really isn't it, although it does boast incredible set-piece moments that will leave your mouth agape, the crux though of the entire film is that family bond which brings it all right back down to Earth instead of becoming lost in space. It is at times numbingly ambitious, deeply profound, genuinely enthralling, exhilarating, and incredibly poignant. I would go as far as to say it's Nolan's best film to date, in fact I would go even further and say Interstellar is one of the finest feats of filmmaking I have seen in the past decade. Not only does it work from a technical standpoint which is something Nolan is known for, but it succeeds completely at a raw and visceral level more so than any film I've seen in years. I left the cinema almost in a daze, at a loss for words, but the one word that eventually came to me was “incredible”, and it truly is. If you want the full experience though I'd definitely recommend seeing it in full 70mm IMAX, it's the only way it must be seen. 

Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former NASA test pilot who now lives a very agrarian life with his family, father-in-law Donald, a son Tom and his daughter Murphy. However, the Earth's crops are dying, freak dust storms are becoming more frequent and it's resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Humanity is now on the precipice and it's up to Cooper along with a group of scientists, Dr Amelia Brant (Anne Hathaway), Romilly (David Gyasi) and Doyle (Wes Bentley) to venture beyond the stars in an attempt to save humanity. To say any more than that really would spoil it, but know it's an extraordinary, roller-coaster of a journey backed up by some amazing and at times heart-breaking performances particularly from McConaughey, Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and the ever impeccable Michael Caine who plays Dr. Brant's father. The entire ensemble though is fantastic and I must give extra credit to the girl who plays Murph, her and McConaughey really do lay down the emotional anchor of the entire film, their relationship is at the heart of this epic tale and without that the film as a whole would have not nearly been as effective. Where Inception was I think more about it's grand ideas backed up with strong performances and one man's chance of redemption and absolution from guilt, Interstellar is more about the indomitable, infinite nature of paternal love backed up with some extraordinary visual flair and ambition. Like the film itself, it reaches to infinity and beyond, yet remains firmly grounded in just raw emotion which punches surprisingly hard throughout the 169 minute run time. It came as a bit of a shock to me and I'm sure many in the cinema how emotional Interstellar actually is, I gurantee there was not a dry eye in that room by the time the credits rolled and there's no shame in that...much. If there is one minor gripe I can level at the film is that it may come across as overly sentimental at times, one particular moment might leave eyes rolling, but this in no way hurts the overall experience, it's just worth mentioning.

Cooper and crew on some strange, new world, taking a simple dip most probably...nothing important.

From a technical standpoint it's simply outstanding, and everything you've come to expect from a Christopher Nolan film. There are some sequences towards the second and final act that are truly breathtaking, and it's possibly the most cinematic film he's done. It's dizzying almost particularly towards the end and while I suspect he's taken some artistic license with the actual science used similar to the dreams in Inception, it's used very effectively though and will certainly leave you gasping in awe. There are several homages and nods to sci-fi films of the past like Event Horizon, Contact, Solaris and certainly Kubrick's 2001 which you can tell was a huge inspiration. I would argue that Interstellar may very well be the 2001 of this era; thought-provoking, daring and incredibly grand in scope and ambition. As ludicrous as some of the more fantastical science may seem in this film, it's rooted in actual science with theoretical physicist Kip Thorne serving as executive producer and consultant. Visually though it's on another scale (tried to avoid the tired 'out of this world' pun), it has to be seen to be believed really and I've never seen anything quite like it in a film.  The soundtrack by the legend that is Hans Zimmer is also beautifully haunting yet epic at the same time, with a surprising emphasis on the organ here which I think works perfectly particularly in the more tender and affecting scenes. It hits all the right emotions and everything from the beautiful cinematography, the performances and sound, it just really comes together in this majestic coalescence.    

Now with all this gushing you might be quick to label me a Nolan "fanboy", or whatever that means, I'm really not. I'm just a lover of a great film and Interstellar certainly is that, but with someone like Christopher Nolan directing it sure I had higher expectations for it. He's clearly established himself as this auteur director, and he's demonstrated that he is among one of the most gifted of his generation. But I went into this film very much the same way I did when I first saw Batman Begins back in 2005, never knew who Nolan was at this point, had not heard of his previous work and thought it may be a cool, new Batman film. Despite Interstellar's long run time of 169 minutes, remarkably it never felt like it was plodding along which is a good thing, maybe not good for cramp though just saying, but I was engaged for the full 169 minutes. It does get going quite quickly and once it takes off (quite literally) it never really lets up after that so buckle up, sit tight and prepare for the greatest trip of the year by far. I hope this will inspire as well as inform cause it is one of those rare films that combines thought-provoking ideas with that inate fascination in us all, I certainly walked away with as many questions as answers which is a good thing. It begs to be analysed and I imagine it will for months maybe even years to come.  

The Verdict

Interstellar is an extraordinary achievement both on a technical scale and on a purely emotional level, it perfectly blends the breathtaking spectacle with a hard-hitting profoundity rarely seen in film. Featuring fantastic lead performances, twists and turns and an incredible soundtrack, this is without question the best film of the year and Nolan's finest work to date, tied with The Dark Knight. I'm going to go on the record and say it is one of the best films I've ever seen and which will stick with me for a long time, heck I can't stop thinking about it. Interstellar is out of this world! Yeah, I caved.