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Red Dragon (2002)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
July 8th, 2009
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'Red Dragon' offers us a glimpse of Hannibal Lecter in civilian life, before he was exposed as a fiendish murderer, locked away, presumably forever, in Dr. Chilton's facility for the criminally insane. We spot him at a symphony, watching carefully an incompetent flutist, who later goes missing, and we understand very quickly that Hannibal has served him to his dinner guests. Hannibal is a member of high society, a man of impeccable taste, a refined, well-mannered, and renowned forensic psychiatrist.
He is working on a case with FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), who comes knocking on his door late at night, claiming to have made a breakthrough, the killer they are tracking is eating portions of his victims; he wonders how he and especially Lecter never picked up on this before. The reason is simple; Graham suddenly realizes that Lecter is the killer, just as Lecter realizes that Graham has figured this out. He tries to kill Graham, but Graham survives, barely, shooting Lecter, and capturing him. The experience was so traumatizing that Will went into semi-retirement, spending time with his wife Molly (Mary-Louise Parker), and their son, Josh.
His former boss Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) approaches him about taking on one last case, involving a serial killer dubbed The Tooth Fairy, who has butchered two families. Graham agrees, albeit reluctantly, and despite Molly's objections. Crawford eventually encourages him to consult with Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) once again, to gain some valuable insight into the Tooth Fairy's mind, and maybe discover how he is selecting his victims. Lecter, of course, toys with Will, tries to manipulate and intimidate him. The Tooth Fairy admires Lecter, sees him as a role model, a mentor.
The Tooth Fairy is revealed to us as the shy Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), who believes he is deformed, and craves companionship, falling for a blind co-worker, Reba (Emily Watson). Francis commits monstrous acts, but we learn that monstrous things were done to him as a child, by his grandmother. This is not a psychological profile of Dolarhyde, but it does help to explain his actions, while certainly not excusing them. Fiennes gives us a sympathetic monster; he seems like he wants to stop, but cannot, and is struggling with a second self of sorts. He is obsessed, apparently, with an image of a red dragon, painted by William Blake, and sees it as a representation of his own transformation.
Lecter analyzes him rather accurately. Anthony Heald is Dr. Chilton, who prides himself on having custody of Lecter, but is unable to penetrate him psychologically. Philip Seymour Hoffman is Freddy Lounds, a sleazy journalist, for a tabloid known as the Tattler. The movie is a remake of Michael Mann's 1986 thriller Manhunter, and is of nearly equal quality, consistently creepy, with Hopkins offering the definitive portrayal of the Lecter character.
I know some may prefer Brian Cox, who originated the role, but Hopkins and Lecter are inseparable, at least to me, and I cannot any other actor as Lecter. Better acting all around, I think, from Keitel, Watson as the kind-hearted Reba, who develops genuine romantic feelings for Francis, and perhaps Fiennes, who may not look as terrifying as Tom Noonan, but nonetheless makes Dolarhyde more frightening, more menacing, more dangerous.
Norton, however, is slightly less interesting than William Petersen, mainly because his Will never appears to be as visibly damaged from his encounter with Lecter, and the performance remains relatively one-note throughout. Clever, but perhaps predictable, twist at the end, and the finale is incredibly suspenseful. And it leads rather nicely into Silence of the Lambs, with Chilton informing Lecter of a young lady who would like to speak with him; we know this is Clarice Starling.
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