The Silence of the Lambs needed a sequel about as much as the Statue of Liberty needs a Walkman. But leaving well enough alone is not Hollywood's habit when there are tubs of money to be made. As a result, fans of the 1991 thriller can once again see Hannibal Lecter, that eminent psychiatrist turned psycho cannibal, and Clarice Starling, the humorless FBI agent, circle each other warily—this time in a rancid, blood-soaked disappointment.
Hannibal begins with prison escapee Lecter (Hopkins, of course) on the loose and living in Italy. Eager to reconnect with Starling (Moore, assuming Jodie Foster's role) after 10 years, he sends her a missive that puts her on his trail. Where Silence concentrated on the complex psychological relationship that developed between Lecter and Starling, Hannibal adds a perverted sense of romance—at least on Lecter's part. Although free of his protective mouthpiece here, he can't mask his attraction to Starling, and she, despite the years that have passed, can't get his insinuating voice out of her head.
While Hannibal generates some genuine chills, its plot rambles and there's way too much gratuitous gore, including an evisceration, a throat slashing and much worse. Considering the talent involved, the movie should have been better. Among the many accomplished cooks stirring Hannibal's pot are director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) and screenwriters David Mamet (State and Main) and Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List), who adapted Thomas Harris's bestselling 1999 novel. And Hopkins, returning with relish to the role for which he won an Oscar, is all seductive evil, using his velvet voice like a caress. Moore, successfully supplanting memories of Foster, is compelling as a hard-driving professional determined to nab her man-eating man. In the end, one leaves Hannibal conflicted: there's lasting queasiness at its many stomach-turning moments but admiration for Hopkins and Moore for managing to be as credible as they are amid this exploitative silliness. (R)
Bottom Line: Not to our taste
Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung
Tom Gliatto
Featured attraction
STARS "1"
The tension between romantic attraction and sexual fulfillment builds to an almost unbearable intensity in this headily erotic movie from Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai.
open sky.
Mood should not be mistaken for a (subtitled) Asian take on Brief Encounter, the weepy 1945 classic about two family-bound adulterers in the British suburbs. Here the affair (and the movie with it) eventually grows more tenuous and mysterious, and the lovers' reticence finally begins to seem not so much noble as irrational. An audience is left bothered and bewildered—but mostly bewitched. (PG-13)
Bottom Line: Mood enhancer
>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Pure movie magic, even if it's in Mandarin with subtitles. This tale of romance and martial arts derring-do will transport you. (PG-13)
The Million Dollar Hotel Life (and murder) among the weirdo tenants of a fleabag hotel. Even with Mel Gibson turning up as a private detective, you won't want to check in. (R)
The Pledge Intriguing, ambiguous suspense thriller stars Jack Nicholson as a retired homicide detective obsessively pursuing a case.(R)
Sugar & Spice Relentlessly vulgar teen comedy about a dippy group of cheerleaders who rob a bank. (PG-13)
Traffic Superior acting and storytelling make this contemporary drug-trade drama a must-see. (R)
>Gillian Anderson
More than seven years of dealing with the eerie as FBI Agent Dana Scully on FOX's The X-Files has left Gillian Anderson a bit weird-weary. "I'm dying to play a sexy character," she says. "I'm dying to play a bitch [or] a drug addict. And I'm sure people think, 'What? Scully?' "
There's little of Scully in Anderson's portrayal of Lily Bart, the ill-fated turn-of-the century socialite, in the film version of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. The setting is a gilded milieu into which, one critic wrote, the 32-year-old actress "fits beautifully."
Although Anderson says it was "just a fluke" that she got the Bart part, she adds definitively that "I want to be in film." That means an X-Files exit for her come 2002 and more time with 6-year-old daughter Piper, who did a lot of growing up on the set of the series. (Its creator Chris Carter is her godfather; Dad is Anderson's ex-hubby, Clyde Klotz, an art director.) "It's not as easy to occupy her in my trailer as it was when she was 2," says her mommy, sounding just a tad X-hausted.
- Contributors:
- Mark Dagostino.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
