TV Review: NBC’s ‘Hannibal’ is Smart, Creepy, Adult Thriller

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CHICAGO – NBC’s “Hannibal” is the best new network drama of the 2012-13 season. It’s a smart, creepy, atmospheric piece of work that perfectly gets the Thomas Harris universe that gave us one of the most memorable villains of all time. Bryan Fuller (“Pushing Daisies”) has proven yet again that he knows how to make engrossing, brilliant television. My only concern is that struggling NBC may not be the best home for it. Don’t make me beg you to watch it. Network TV needs more programming this impressive.

Television Rating: 4.5/5.0

Fans of Harris’s “Red Dragon” (also made into a film as “Manhunter” by Michael Mann), will recognize the complex dynamic between Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). This is where it began. I hate to use that dreaded word, “prequel,” since it doesn’t really capture what’s going on here. Sure, Fuller and his incredibly talented technical team play with what we know about what Hannibal will become in books/films like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Hannibal” (I particularly love litle touches like Graham saying in a lecture about a suspected killer, “He is an intelligent psychopath” while the camera holds not on Will but Hannibal), but this is not an origin story in a traditional sense. It is far more thematically rich, dense, and rewarding than mere references to someone else’s material. It stands on its own.

Hannibal
Photo credit: NBC

Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) is a messed-up guy. He’s asked in the third episode, “You do this a lot? Go places and think about killing?” His response: “Too often.” He can carefully and in detail envision crimes not unlike Dexter Morgan can know exactly what happened by looking at the blood splatter. Unlike Dexter, Will is on the right side of the law, for now, but his ability to look deep into the criminal abyss has forever changed him. He’s somewhat unstable, and he’s made even more so when he’s asked to consult on a case involving a missing girl who may be the victim of a serial killer with a tendency toward consuming flesh.

Hannibal Photo credit: NBC

The plotting of “Hannibal” is simply brilliant. Fuller and his staff of writers use the first case not in a standalone sense like an episode of “CSI” but something that will ripple through the already-plotted first season (Fuller reportedly has multiple seasons outlined). I’m not going to spoil anything but Graham gets himself in a situation that requires mental help. Enter Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), someone who seems keenly aware of how to push and pull Will into the dark corners of not just his mind but reality. Is Lecter involved in the case Graham is trying to solve? What are the long-term effects of the fascinating mind games he’s playing with Graham?

Fuller and the team behind “Hannibal” (including great directors like Peter Medak, Guillermo Navarro, & John Dahl) pull no punches with gore but they have loftier ambitions here than your average horror show (and use their violence more for dread than straight-up horror like “The Following”). They are asking fascinating questions about the long-term effects of crime-solving and the fact that criminals and the people who work to catch them exist on the same human spectrum. When a cop kills a bad guy, does he feel a thrill from saving the victim or from the act of vengeance? And if it’s the latter, how far is he from a man who kills for thrills?

The writing on “Hannibal” is its greatest strength but the show has remarkable production values as well, working with atmosphere instead of jump cuts or visions of horror. And the visuals of the show feel fully of a piece with the best of the Harris film universe. When a girl is found hung up on antlers, it’s hard not to picture the brutal aftermath of Lecter’s escape in “Silence of the Lambs.” The reason “Hannibal” is so impressive in terms of its very design is that it’s a thematic prequel not merely a plot one. So many writers would have given us little more than “Hannibal the Cannibal: The Early Days” (which we saw in the horrendous “Hannibal Rising”) but Fuller isn’t as interested in connecting dots literally as he is thematically.

Hannibal Photo credit: NBC

The performances are strong throughout. “Hannibal” and the creators smartly don’t let Mikkelsen steal too many scenes, which he easily could. The Danish actor is spectacular, finding just the right balance of menace and intelligence. Hannibal Lecter is smart and charming enough to hide his lunatic tendencies and Mikkelsen gets that balance without chewing the scenery. He’s actually a subtle Hannibal. Dancy overplays a few beats but he’s an engaging lead and the supporting cast, including a former Fuller collaborator in Caroline Dhavernas (“Wonderfalls”) and a solid Lawrence Fishburne (who really shines in the emotional fourth episode with the great Gina Torres of “Firefly” as his wife), is uniformly strong.

It’s not perfect. Episode three has some pacing issues and climaxes in an unbelievable fashion that deflates some of the incredible work in the opening pair. However, the ship is righted immediately in a great one-on-one scene in the next episode and the plotting missteps are a minor complaint compared to how much works about the five episodes sent to critics overall.

NBC on Thursday nights has been a graveyard of shows, some awful (“Do No Harm”), some just unable to find an audience (“Awake,” “Prime Suspect”). Don’t let the quicksand of this time slot suck down “Hannibal.” Honestly, it feels like we’re at a crossroads for network TV. If a program this smart, entertaining, and riveting can’t make it on NBC, they may want to stop trying.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]