Manhunter

Starring: William Peterson, Brian Cox, Kim Greist, Dennis Farina, Joan Allen, Tom Noonan, Stephen Lang, Chris Elliott
Directed by: Michael Mann
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
1986

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Former FBI Agent Will Graham (William Peterson) tracks a serial killer who the FBI has been unable to find.

Review:

Tim: I'm actually surprised I liked Manhunter as much as I did. In the Hannibal Lecter franchise, this movie is clearly an afterthought. The Silence of the Lambs won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and gave us one of the all-time great villain performances by Anthony Hopkins. Compared to that all-time classic, what could this film offer? To be sure, this film isn't close to the second film's greatness, but it is still an enjoyable, entertaining thriller in its own right. This movie is worth checking out.

The film benefits from a strong source material, the novel by Thomas Mann. It's a great story- a former FBI specialist reluctantly comes back to help search for a brutal serial killer. He has to confront his own past, including Hannibal Lecter (I refuse to spell it the way they do in this film), the man who he put behind bars, but nearly killed him. It's a very interesting story and I loved the twisting, turning, suspenseful moves of the plot. The story keeps you engaged from the very beginning, and director Michael Mann does a good job of letting it unfold on screen. The story is certainly the single biggest strength of this movie.

The cast is a little disappointing. William Peterson is fine as Will Graham, but why did he give such a wooden, stoic, uncharismatic performance? Yes, he's brooding and quiet, but it was almost laughable at times. I never felt any real emotional connection with the character. I was interested in what he was doing, but I never cared about him at all. Brian Cox was okay as Hannibal. He's not terrible, but it is impossible to forget how Anthony Hopkins took this character and transformed him into this chilling, unforgettable, brilliant monster. In comparison, Cox barely makes a dent as Lecter. It's a shame Cox is so overshadowed, but that's the way it is. Tom Noonan was fine as the Tooth Fairy. The rest of the cast is fine as well- Dennis Farina and Joan Allen, etc. However, there really isn't a single great performance in the film.

The music is another knock on this film. I know the movie came out in the mid-1980s, but the music felt so awful and completely out of place. I know that this was a common complaint when the film came out, but the music is so overemphasized that it took me out of the story on multiple occasions. Rather than connecting with characters or feeling suspense build, I thought, "What the heck is going on with the music in this scene?" It was too in-your-face and it detracted from the film, rather than added to it.

Manhunter is clearly a film that's better than many people gave it credit for being. It is a solid film and an entertaining thriller. It did face the insurmountable challenge of being followed by one of the greatest thrillers of all time. Even without the far superior The Silence of the Lambs, this film has enough flaws of its own. I would definitely recommend seeing this movie, but just understand it's good and never great.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon