Red Dragon (2002)
Review by Noel
“Did he do things to you? Did he sodomize you?”
(into a mirror) “Would you fuck me? I’d fuck me. I’d fuck me hard.”
“Bleeker was good in…chair”
“I’m having an old friend for dinner…”
Those of course are lines from the classic The Silence of the Lambs (except for that line from Juno). Those of you who frequent this site should a well-worn copy of that film on your shelves right now…
…But if you don’t I’ll personally mail you the extremely rare Criterion Collection version of it, the one with the lost commentary from director Jonathan Demme, Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins free of charge except…I don’t have your address on me at the moment…Oh well…
You remember in ‘91, Silence won a quintillion Oscars and I think if even if you just saw it you got an Honorary Oscar (it’s coming with your stimulus check). To this day it holds up very well, using genuine suspense with not as much gore as you might imagine. A mere 11 years later, the 3rd, or 1st of the Lecter trilogy, Red Dragon, came out with mixed reviews…which wasn’t a surprise.
Not only did it have the weight of Silence of the Lambs and ‘01’s delicious slice of gore pie Hannibal to contend with, but Dragon had Michael Mann’s 1986 version of the Thomas Harris novel Manhunter with which it would be inevitably compared.
Personal Note- feel free to skip- I’ll confess, The Silence of the Lambs is my second favorite movie of all time, and in my first year of film school I geekily (along with about 50 other Trojans) dissected this fucker in an auditorium (we’d watch the film and ANYBODY could yell stop and provide whatever insight they could about it- a two hour film lasted six). The discussion was led by film critic Roger Ebert, and I can’t prove it, but I think he stole my lunch. Kidding about the lunch-stealing. I did eventually eat that sandwich, chips and soda, but I gobbled it quickly so he wouldn’t take it and gobble me along with it. End personal note…
So I looked forward to each of the Lecter films with inhuman anticipation, but I genuinely didn’t care if they were good, because nothing could compare to Silence. All I wanted was to be entertained… Did it succeed? Read on…
Someone is killing girls and taking their body parts. That sucks.
FBI Super Duper Agent Will Graham (the incomparable hulk of an actor Edward Norton) has a hunch about something, and goes to see a consultant on the case to run it by him. The consultant’s name: Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, chewing scenery as well as flesh in his signature role).
Graham’s hunch: someone’s eating the parts.
Lecter’s response: a stiletto to Graham’s gut.
But Will Survives… and our movie really begins.
Families are killed in separate states. Mommy, daddy and every little boy and girl are turned into pincushions. Their eyes are torn out and replaced by mirror shards. The FBI is stumped, because this freak (dubbed ‘The Tooth Fairy’) could do it again. So FBI guy Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel replacing Scott Glenn) enlists Will’s aid. No contact. Just look. Use your gift for deduction to bring this dude down.
Will does, but it may not be enough.
Crawford subtly suggests he get help. From who? Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
After whining for a moment, Graham capitulates because it may be…their only hope. Lives are at stake, and he can’t afford to be a little bitch.
We see the freak in question about 40 minutes into the movie. He’s Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), and let’s just say this boy’s got ISSUES. And not just because he’s named Francis, ‘cause that would do it for me (to everybody named Francis reading this- Just kidding). He wants to be the Red Dragon, and to do that takes “transformation.” You can guess what that might mean..
Does Will save the day before another nice-sized family home goes on the market (for immediate sale- price lowered due to bloodstains and carnage)? Rent it and find out. You know where it is. Or borrow it from a friend of you haven’t seen it in a while…
Sing along kids…you know what time it is.
What works about Red Dragon:
1.) That freakin’ cast- Hopkins, Norton, throw in Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, Ralph Fiennes, Mary-Louise Parker AND Philip Seymour Hoffman, and you’ve got one of the best overall casts assembled in terms of acting talent this decade.
2.) The beautiful pre-credits opening scenes- They’re not in the novel but screenwriter Ted Tally (who won an Oscar for the screenplay to Silence), makes them the best scenes in the movie. Everything works because of your previous cinematic experience with Lecter (“If I tell you I’m afraid you won’t even try it”). And that gripping first exchange between Norton and Hopkins (“I almost had it”) throws down a gauntlet that the rest of the movie tries to match, but…
3.) Barney!!!
4.) Emily Watson- brings unexpected depth to a very thinly written device of a character.
5.) For Silence Fans, the Return of Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald) provides many reasons to smile (“I think we’ll remove Dr. Lecter’s toilet seat as well”).
6.) Noncommittal yes, but I genuinely like both Bryan Cox and Anthony Hopkins as Lecter.
7.) The ‘Tour’ with Graham and Chilton mirroring the Silence scenes (“I let him kill me”).
8.) Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson have such wonderfully touching scenes you almost forget you’re watching a horror movie. Although I will say the ‘homework’ scene where Fiennes is getting blown is one of the sickest non-graphic scenes of the decade.
9.) The masterful use of personal ads, taken directly from the novel (“If I hear from you, I’ll send you something wet”).
10.) Subtle 80’s details- I liked how nothing in this movie is glaringly 80’s. Videotapes! A friggin’ Rolodex! Rotary Phones! No Cell Phones! Teased hair! HUGE bracelets!
11.) Edward Norton perfectly cast. It is a pleasure watching him spar with Hopkins, quid pro quo indeed (“No one will ever be safe around you Will…”).
12.) “This guy wasn’t born a monster. He was made one through years of systematic abuse.” This line is said in Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs by different characters. Bloody brilliant.
13.) The once and future Voldemort Ralph Fiennes creates a wonderfully sympathetic monster. He dances, he eats paintings, he kills families, he pleads with paintings completely naked (“I have no pity”). His ‘Kiss-kiss’ scene with Hoffman alone is worth the price of this much discounted DVD…
Fear is not what you owe him. You owe him…awe.
14.) My personal favorite final movie line of all time. If you don’t know it off the top of your head, then see it again and remember why…
What doesn’t work:
1.) Director Brett Ratner- he gets picked on, sometimes unfairly (X-Men 3 would have sucked regardless of who directed it), but his direction in Red Dragon seems to be to let the actors do what they want. And with this cast, that’s a pretty smart choice most of the time. Every piece of direction is ‘standard’ (Master shot, mediums, and the occasional close-up). You wonder what a director with balls and an actual vision might have done with it. For all of it’s flaws, you just felt Ridley Scott knew what he wanted to achieve with Hannibal. Dragon seems to be directed on auto-pilot/safe mode.
2.) Harvey Keitel extremely underused.
3.) A fake scare involving a knock on the door. Not fair!!
4.) The fake ending is way too poorly set up for even a moment of disbelief .
5.) Has to be compared to Silence and Hannibal. A lot of films would fail under that scrutiny…
Oddly enough, if you take Red Dragon as the ‘first’ of the Lecter trilogy (notice I’m not counting the abomination that is Hannibal Rising), it’s actually a pretty effective introduction to one of our favorite movie monsters. That it’s the third best of the series shouldn’t be a reason to hold you back and have another taste of the Dragon…
Watch the Red Dragon trailer:
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