Will Graham is a retired F. B. I. Agent who lives a quiet life with his wife Molly and his son Kevin. When a prolific serial killer nicknamed by the press as The Tooth Fairy who preys on families continues to elude the bureau, Will's old friend and former superior Jack Crawford approaches him, as Will has an aptitude to get into the mind of a serial killer, and display total empathy. The troubled ex-agent is initially reluctant to go into service but cannot bring himself to see another family fall prey to the brutal Tooth Fairy when he knows he can potentially put a stop to him. Accepting Jack's request despite protests from Molly, Will sporadically meets with the charismatic and highly intelligent but dangerous serial killer and psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lektor whom he helped capture. However, it came at the cost of Will nearly losing his sanity after falling victim to a brutal assault from the deranged Lektor. Soon the hunt for the elusive Tooth Fairy becomes a race against time before the killer strikes again as his modus operandi dictates he does so when there is a full moon. Meanwhile, photographer Francis Dolarhyde who is the eponymous Tooth Fairy is romancing a young blind woman who is unaware of his clandestine activities. And of the deep pent-up rage and turmoil that lies deep within him.
What was then the latest movie to come from Michael Mann who had previously been behind the 1981 crime thriller Thief and the 1983 World War II Horror movie The Keep. Having also been the creative mind behind the iconic 80s Detective series Miami Vice. Manhunter is based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon which was the face of his series of books to feature the even more now iconic Dr. Hannibal Lectre,(although his surname was misspelled as Lektor here) had its name changed because producer Dino Delaurentis had previously had a flop with 1985's The Year of the Dragon. Therefore he had no intention of wanting to tempt fate a second time, although it proved fruitless proving to be a commercial flop and achieving only mixed reviews. A fate that most certainly wouldn't befall the big screen adaptation of Harris' second novel in his series The Silence of the Lambs which received critical acclaim, was a box office success, and pulled in five Oscars to boot.
Needless to say, the reason perhaps for its failure to pull in audiences is that Mann who himself adapted its screenplay, didn't stay quite as faithful to the source material as fans of the novel would have liked. First and foremost Lektor here is not portrayed as being a cannibal, having been a killer who targeted college girls while in Harris' novels "Lectre" was more indiscriminate. Also the physical appearance of Francis Dolaryde who in the books is described as being far more handsome and slender built, with a slight deformity in that he had a cleft lip. Rather than the lanky, bald, ghostly-looking figure as portrayed by Tom Noonan. While the movie's denouement differs greatly.
All present present and correct however are many of the same characters that have become synonymous with the series, which include Agent-in-Charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the F. B. I. Jack Crawford as played by Denis Farina, Forensic psychologist Dr. Sidney Bloom (and another friend of Will Graham's whose name was changed from the novel as it was originally Alan) with Paul Perri inhabiting the role, and Dr. Frederick Chilton, director of the sanitorium where Lektor is imprisoned and played by Benjamin Hendrickson. The dynamic and relationship between Will and Jack is the one that is most pivotal and apparent to the plot.
Mann's Manhunter as with his previous movies is textbook 80s fare, from its supercharged and synth score as composed by Michael Rubini, Barry Andrews, and Klaus Schulze. As well as it's pop track that simply screams out the era. It is safe to say that he doesn't skimp on any measure of style, with his employment of shades of blue, green, and purple in his color palette. It all adds to the intense and brooding atmospheric ambiance that he composes. And complemented not least by the movie lead actor the undervalued William Peterson who imbues Will Graham with a burning intensity. It's hard not to believe that Graham is a damaged human being haunted by the demons of his past. And that one that looms over him that haunts his thoughts is Brian Cox's Hannibal Lektor. Who has an overall brief screen time, only appearing in three scenes but Cox makes each one most definitely count. Making a palpable impact. His version of Lektor as opposed to Anthony Hopkins who would become more renowned for the role, with his jet black vampiric hairstyle and pale white complexion is a more understated, and realistic approach to the character than what was to later come. Portraying him in a calm, matter-of-fact manner and who knows how to mentally unpick and analyze Graham, making him a formidable and highly deadly adversary.
Overall, Manhunter feels like something of a figurative chess game but with only Lektor moving the pieces on the board. Intelligent as well as provocative, and sporting a superb charismatic and challenging performance from William Peterson. Playing a man torn between his loyalty to his family, and his sense of duty as a human being. He is a man caught in a maelstrom, that is aptly paralleled by that of his prey who himself is a tortured figure, albeit for more self-serving reasons. We get something of a portrait of a contradictory figure who you will both revile and have pity for in equal measure. Dolarhyde is indeed a pitiful semblance of a man. But who is the hunter and who is the prey swiftly becoming blurred and in no small thanks to a certain Dr. Lektor. A scene where Will is forced to face the consequences of his decision, and talking to his young son about his own personal demons both real and figurative will be sure to stay with you. It feels like a father telling his child that those monsters your mother and I always told you that are not real. Well, they are.
If it does falter, Mann does occasionally lapse into stylistic pretensions. While Peterson's Jacobean-style monologues arguably veer a little too close to the overly histrionic. It's still a powerful, and visually striking thriller that anyone with a nostalgic fondness for the 80s, especially 80s synth will for the most part embrace. It unfortunately became something of a footnote compared to Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning and superior The Silence of the Lambs, having been overshadowed by it. It doesn't quite deserve to be mentioned in the same name as it but has still been deserving something of the critical reappraisal it would later receive.
What was then the latest movie to come from Michael Mann who had previously been behind the 1981 crime thriller Thief and the 1983 World War II Horror movie The Keep. Having also been the creative mind behind the iconic 80s Detective series Miami Vice. Manhunter is based on Thomas Harris's novel Red Dragon which was the face of his series of books to feature the even more now iconic Dr. Hannibal Lectre,(although his surname was misspelled as Lektor here) had its name changed because producer Dino Delaurentis had previously had a flop with 1985's The Year of the Dragon. Therefore he had no intention of wanting to tempt fate a second time, although it proved fruitless proving to be a commercial flop and achieving only mixed reviews. A fate that most certainly wouldn't befall the big screen adaptation of Harris' second novel in his series The Silence of the Lambs which received critical acclaim, was a box office success, and pulled in five Oscars to boot.
Needless to say, the reason perhaps for its failure to pull in audiences is that Mann who himself adapted its screenplay, didn't stay quite as faithful to the source material as fans of the novel would have liked. First and foremost Lektor here is not portrayed as being a cannibal, having been a killer who targeted college girls while in Harris' novels "Lectre" was more indiscriminate. Also the physical appearance of Francis Dolaryde who in the books is described as being far more handsome and slender built, with a slight deformity in that he had a cleft lip. Rather than the lanky, bald, ghostly-looking figure as portrayed by Tom Noonan. While the movie's denouement differs greatly.
All present present and correct however are many of the same characters that have become synonymous with the series, which include Agent-in-Charge of the Behavioral Science Unit of the F. B. I. Jack Crawford as played by Denis Farina, Forensic psychologist Dr. Sidney Bloom (and another friend of Will Graham's whose name was changed from the novel as it was originally Alan) with Paul Perri inhabiting the role, and Dr. Frederick Chilton, director of the sanitorium where Lektor is imprisoned and played by Benjamin Hendrickson. The dynamic and relationship between Will and Jack is the one that is most pivotal and apparent to the plot.
Mann's Manhunter as with his previous movies is textbook 80s fare, from its supercharged and synth score as composed by Michael Rubini, Barry Andrews, and Klaus Schulze. As well as it's pop track that simply screams out the era. It is safe to say that he doesn't skimp on any measure of style, with his employment of shades of blue, green, and purple in his color palette. It all adds to the intense and brooding atmospheric ambiance that he composes. And complemented not least by the movie lead actor the undervalued William Peterson who imbues Will Graham with a burning intensity. It's hard not to believe that Graham is a damaged human being haunted by the demons of his past. And that one that looms over him that haunts his thoughts is Brian Cox's Hannibal Lektor. Who has an overall brief screen time, only appearing in three scenes but Cox makes each one most definitely count. Making a palpable impact. His version of Lektor as opposed to Anthony Hopkins who would become more renowned for the role, with his jet black vampiric hairstyle and pale white complexion is a more understated, and realistic approach to the character than what was to later come. Portraying him in a calm, matter-of-fact manner and who knows how to mentally unpick and analyze Graham, making him a formidable and highly deadly adversary.
Overall, Manhunter feels like something of a figurative chess game but with only Lektor moving the pieces on the board. Intelligent as well as provocative, and sporting a superb charismatic and challenging performance from William Peterson. Playing a man torn between his loyalty to his family, and his sense of duty as a human being. He is a man caught in a maelstrom, that is aptly paralleled by that of his prey who himself is a tortured figure, albeit for more self-serving reasons. We get something of a portrait of a contradictory figure who you will both revile and have pity for in equal measure. Dolarhyde is indeed a pitiful semblance of a man. But who is the hunter and who is the prey swiftly becoming blurred and in no small thanks to a certain Dr. Lektor. A scene where Will is forced to face the consequences of his decision, and talking to his young son about his own personal demons both real and figurative will be sure to stay with you. It feels like a father telling his child that those monsters your mother and I always told you that are not real. Well, they are.
If it does falter, Mann does occasionally lapse into stylistic pretensions. While Peterson's Jacobean-style monologues arguably veer a little too close to the overly histrionic. It's still a powerful, and visually striking thriller that anyone with a nostalgic fondness for the 80s, especially 80s synth will for the most part embrace. It unfortunately became something of a footnote compared to Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning and superior The Silence of the Lambs, having been overshadowed by it. It doesn't quite deserve to be mentioned in the same name as it but has still been deserving something of the critical reappraisal it would later receive.