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sarnathSo, like the rest of the internet, I've started watching NBC's Hannibal. It's brilliant, no regrets! I'm a little bit worried about how long the hiatus will be, but on the other hand I also watch BBC's Sherlock, so.
I don't know what I expected when I started watching, but whatever my expectations were, the show exceeded them. By a large margin! Once I'd seen the sixth and seventh episodes, I was completely in love, heh.
For many reasons Hannibal actually reminds me of the Silent Hill games; the same psychological horror, the same distortion of reality, except that in Hannibal the distortion in completely in Will Graham's mind. It's not at all a supernatural show, despite being horror.
Because it is horror, and not a procedural, which I've seen a lot of people mistake it for. Some of which have actually watched the show too, and are disappointed that there aren't clues and hints for the audience to make it possible to solve the "whodunnit". Yeah, that's not going to happen. The crimes themselves are an integral part of the plot in many ways, but the solution is not what's important in this story. No, the emphasis is what events mean to Will, Hannibal, and their relationship (and to a lesser extent, their relationship to other characters).
Because this is mainly the story about Will and Hannibal. And we know what will happen eventually; I've seen the films, a lot of people have read the books, the image of Hannibal Lecter in prison with the mask is a popular culture icon. But here's the thing; it's going to happen differently here, and that's what makes it exciting. There will be no Clarice (other than the version that's already showed up) if I've understood things correctly, and Will had a different relationship with Hannibal from the very first episode compared to the books and films where they only meet a couple of times and never really get to know each other. Particularly not before Hannibal was caught.
So we know what's going to happen, but we also don't know. And I think the journey is going to be fantastic.
Not the least because they've managed to select brilliant actors. I love watching even the characters I hate! (Looking at you here, Freddie, you're a despicable person, but the actor playing you is amazing.) Also, Eddie Izzard, was not expecting that. He's amazing too, by the way.
In fact, while Hannibal and Will are the focus, the secondary characters are great, get quite a bit of the plot and screen time, and half of them are women! Fuller (creator/showrunner) actually changed two characters from the original story from men to women, and added a third important female character to the story (they all are mainly connected to the main characters though, since they're the main characters) explicitly because he thought there were to few women in the original story. He also gave the role of Jack Crawford to Laurence Fishburne, who I think was a great choice.
It's surprisingly gory, too, if you don't expect the horror element. I wouldn't recommend it to sensitive viewers! I'm kind of enjoying it, though, heh.
Hannibal and Will, though. It's enthralling to watch their relationship progress, because we know what Hannibal is, but to Will he's becoming someone he relies on more and more, and wow, the latest couple of episodes have been harsh.
It doesn't help that the subtext is loud and clear, and largely intentional (if I interpret things the writers and actors have said correctly), while we're not allowed to forget that Hannibal is actually a murdering, manipulative cannibal (who eats the rude, but I don't really feel that's enough of a justification!).
And it's funny. I've laughed out loud at the most horrifying things; if black humour is your thing, Hannibal is for you! Also, Hannibal obviously thinks he is hilarious. "Loudly implied cannibalism", indeed!
So if you like horror, suspense, a charged relationship between the two leads and don't mind gore or a bit of dark humour, go watch right now!
I don't know what I expected when I started watching, but whatever my expectations were, the show exceeded them. By a large margin! Once I'd seen the sixth and seventh episodes, I was completely in love, heh.
For many reasons Hannibal actually reminds me of the Silent Hill games; the same psychological horror, the same distortion of reality, except that in Hannibal the distortion in completely in Will Graham's mind. It's not at all a supernatural show, despite being horror.
Because it is horror, and not a procedural, which I've seen a lot of people mistake it for. Some of which have actually watched the show too, and are disappointed that there aren't clues and hints for the audience to make it possible to solve the "whodunnit". Yeah, that's not going to happen. The crimes themselves are an integral part of the plot in many ways, but the solution is not what's important in this story. No, the emphasis is what events mean to Will, Hannibal, and their relationship (and to a lesser extent, their relationship to other characters).
Because this is mainly the story about Will and Hannibal. And we know what will happen eventually; I've seen the films, a lot of people have read the books, the image of Hannibal Lecter in prison with the mask is a popular culture icon. But here's the thing; it's going to happen differently here, and that's what makes it exciting. There will be no Clarice (other than the version that's already showed up) if I've understood things correctly, and Will had a different relationship with Hannibal from the very first episode compared to the books and films where they only meet a couple of times and never really get to know each other. Particularly not before Hannibal was caught.
So we know what's going to happen, but we also don't know. And I think the journey is going to be fantastic.
Not the least because they've managed to select brilliant actors. I love watching even the characters I hate! (Looking at you here, Freddie, you're a despicable person, but the actor playing you is amazing.) Also, Eddie Izzard, was not expecting that. He's amazing too, by the way.
In fact, while Hannibal and Will are the focus, the secondary characters are great, get quite a bit of the plot and screen time, and half of them are women! Fuller (creator/showrunner) actually changed two characters from the original story from men to women, and added a third important female character to the story (they all are mainly connected to the main characters though, since they're the main characters) explicitly because he thought there were to few women in the original story. He also gave the role of Jack Crawford to Laurence Fishburne, who I think was a great choice.
It's surprisingly gory, too, if you don't expect the horror element. I wouldn't recommend it to sensitive viewers! I'm kind of enjoying it, though, heh.
Hannibal and Will, though. It's enthralling to watch their relationship progress, because we know what Hannibal is, but to Will he's becoming someone he relies on more and more, and wow, the latest couple of episodes have been harsh.
It doesn't help that the subtext is loud and clear, and largely intentional (if I interpret things the writers and actors have said correctly), while we're not allowed to forget that Hannibal is actually a murdering, manipulative cannibal (who eats the rude, but I don't really feel that's enough of a justification!).
And it's funny. I've laughed out loud at the most horrifying things; if black humour is your thing, Hannibal is for you! Also, Hannibal obviously thinks he is hilarious. "Loudly implied cannibalism", indeed!
So if you like horror, suspense, a charged relationship between the two leads and don't mind gore or a bit of dark humour, go watch right now!
