Red Dragon: Film Review

Red Dragon is the third adaptation of Thomas Harris's novels that feature Anthony Hopkins and is worth the price of admission for fans of The Silence of the Lambs, particularly if they made it through Hannibal. Red Dragon is the first in the series, beginning before Lecter has ever entered prison. The story has been adapted into a film before, Michael Mann's film Manhunter, but Red Dragon is in many ways more chilling and true to Harris' novel than the earlier film. It is helped by a top notch cast including Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, and, of course, Hopkins' creepy but ultimately likable portrayal of Hannibal Lecter.

Red Dragon stars Norton as former Special Agent Will Graham, the man who caught Hannibal Lecter. Several years after capturing Lecter and his subsequent breakdown and retirement from the FBI, Will Graham is living the coast of Florida and spends his time rebuilding boats. However, when the FBI has little luck tracking down a new serial killer called the "Tooth Fairy", a man who has murdered two families in their homes, Jack Crawford (Keitel) seeks Graham's help. Graham reluctantly agrees to consult on the case and ends up becoming embroiled in the investigation because of his determination to keep the killer from murdering another family. Out of desperation, Graham even seeks the assistance of his nemesis, Hannibal Lecter, a move that both helps the case and puts Graham and his family in danger. As the investigation begins to narrow in on the killer, the movie also acquaints us with the murderer, an insecure and emotionally tortured man named Francis Dolarhyde, who believes he is becoming the Red Dragon featured in a painting by William Blake. The closer Graham gets, the closer Dolarhyde seems to be to the edge. This all leads up to a conclusion worthy of the novel.

The actors of Red Dragon deliver good performances. Ralph Fiennes' performance as Dolarhyde is often chilling but also stirs empathy. Fiennes exhibits a quiet menace, reminiscent of his performance as Amon Goeth in Schindler's List, but also shows the character's immense vulnerability and insecurity brought on by a nightmare childhood. Emily Watson (Gosford Park and the recent Punch-Drunk Love) is excellent as a blind woman who briefly stirs Dolarhyde's heart. The only thing that is troubling about the casting is that Edward Norton sometimes seems a little too young to play Will Graham. However, his performance manages to be rather convincing and fortunately not as melodramatic as William Peterson's portrayal of Graham in Manhunter. Anthony Hopkins again gives audiences the world's most likeable, and hence extremely frightening, serial killer.

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