Eat drink man woman

>> Hannibal devolves into a garish soap opera

by MATTHEW HAYS

 The lore around Hannibal, the decade-later sequel to the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs, rivals that of the fictional character Hannibal Lecter himself. Sir Anthony Hopkins, who won an Oscar for his depiction of Lecter in the first film, wanted to reprise the role. Jonathan Demme, who won an Oscar as director of the film (it took Best Picture), bowed out, citing dissatisfaction with the plot author Thomas Harris envisioned in his Hannibal novel.

 Ditto Jodie Foster (also won an Oscar, also didn't like plot turns), in what will surely prove this sequel's biggest glitch. Will moviegoers accept replacement Julianne Moore as Agent Clarice Starling? So distraught by her decision not to return, rumour has it Hopkins met with Foster at her L.A. digs and literally begged her to take the bait. Despite a honking paycheck, Foster didn't bite. (Hopkins made it sound as though he wasn't so brokenhearted when he spoke with Barbara Walters last week on 20/20.)

 I found the idea of a Lambs sequel without Foster kinda depressing too. But your ability to enjoy Hannibal will be directly linked to your ability to let go of the tone of the first film. Though there are certainly references to the Lambs, Scott and screenwriter David Mamet have careened off on quite a different course.

 The film opens with Starling in charge of a delicate operation, arresting some armed and dangerous types when they don't expect it. Through no fault of her own (of course), the operation is bungled and five people are killed, including her partner. Her reputation tainted, Starling is one depressed agent.

 Enter Hannibal once more, who is now on the FBI's Most-Wanted list, but who's in hiding in Italy. A rich eccentric (Gary Oldman) who was disfigured during a bizarre encounter with Hannibal (the scene is retold in lurid flashback), is now hell-bent on revenge. But not just wiping out the man; instead, he wants to see Hannibal devoured by wild pigs. (This clever method of doing away with your foes is also floated in Snatch; apparently, death by pig is the modus operandi du jour.)

 After tracking the dangerous Hannibal down, Starling then finds herself in the odd position of trying to save him, as Oldman's plan unfolds. To give any more away would make me as insensitive and unfeeling as a cannibal.

 Though Scott stated in an interview that he didn't really appreciate the shift in tone that Cameron made with Aliens, the first sequel in the Alien franchise that Scott began, Scott has done much the same thing here. With Hannibal's crush on Starling made clear, Hannibal, the movie, begins to feel like an over-the-top man-eating soap opera. Mamet has registered the humour in the very concept of Hannibal himself--how could he not?--a character so flamboyantly evil that Hopkins always seemed to be playing him with a wink and a nod.

 But the plot twists and sickly black humour may prove too much for diehard fans looking for pure wool. I accepted Hannibal for what it was: a crazy, overblown, garish, probably misguided but nonetheless fun, cannibal-themed movie. Taste it for yourself. :

 Hannibal opens Friday, Feb. 9