ScreeningNotes’s review published on Letterboxd:
"Save yourself, kill them all!"
Hannibal Lecter before he was immortalized by Anthony Hopkins and Michael Mann before he was immortalized by Heat, Manhunter is a strange but thoroughly enjoyable beast. It's a filling entree of police procedural verisimilitude dressed with a generous helping of thick atmosphere, two signatures for which Mann would eventually become a renowned cinematic chef.
Adapted from Thomas Harris's Red Dragon, Manhunter features a plot which today feels rather standard but which must have felt much fresher before the wildly successful adaptation of another of the author's work's, The Silence of the Lambs. Will Graham (William Peterson) is a former FBI agent who left the force after his successful but traumatic pursuit of Hannibal Lecter. When a serial killer with similar methods proves too much for the agency, they ask him to return for one more job. But Graham must not only return to the mental space which previously overwhelmed his psyche; he quickly realizes he must also go back to the imprisoned psychotic cannibal himself for assistance. His inability to repress the evil he faces brings him to the edge of insanity as his journey to track a killer brings him into contact with another truly deranged mind.
On the one hand, Manhunter feels like a narrative compromise next to either Jonathan Demme's superior Lecter adaptation or Michael Mann's other police procedurals. But on the other, it does bring to the table an exceptionally compelling descent into madness in its central character arc. Graham becomes increasingly deranged as he's forced to confront the twin traumas of his terrifying past with Lecter and his uncertain future with this new killer. Peterson's performance here is a great combination of flattened affect and almost delirious hysteria, and while his delivery drones at times this seems like a purposeful decision to show the character's sanity slipping away.
The film also creates an atmosphere much like Mann's first two films, Thief and The Keep. The score originally composed by The Reds with supplemental material from Michel Rubini is a nearly overpowering presence and gives the film a strong 80's flavor reminiscent of Tangerine Dream but with more of a pop/rock sensibility. This also marks the beginning of Mann's collaboration with cinematographer Dante Spinotti, whose evocative stark lighting and low angles would become a feature of their work together through to the more recent Public Enemies.
There are a few moments in the film which stand out negatively against this otherwise exceptional thriller. Joan Allen's soft-spoken Reba McClane is unreasonably anxious to get into the pants of Tom Noonan's reclusive antagonist, and Graham's son Kevin breaks the tension of a serious moment by asking what kind of coffee his father likes. A few of the subplots also leave questions unanswered, which may be intriguing for some viewers but made me feel there was a lack of closure.
But these moments are the exceptions rather than the rule. While I can't say I fell in love with Manhunter, I do love Michael Mann's creations and feel like this is a film which will grow on me other time. Recommended for fans of Mann or Lecter or for anyone looking for an 80's-style detective story with some atmosphere and character.
Thematically, Manhunter also continues Michael Mann's unique portrayal of male sexual politics. Graham, Lecter, and the copycat killer Dollarhyde form a figurative love triangle. Lecter is the intermediary through which Dollarhyde and Graham understand their relationship, and each of their pursuits illustrates their relationship with Lecter. Like an abused child unable to understand his traumatic love for his father, Graham seeks to forget Lecter through his persecution of Dollarhyde; like an obsessed lover incapable of displaying his affections, Dollarhyde reproduces the only acts of recognition he understands. Essentially, both characters want to repair their respective relationships with Lecter. Lecter dominates the center of the film both emotionally and thematically as its unacknowledged symbolic authority.
Crew: Michael Mann | Dante Spinotti
2014: New Discoveries | All Together
I'm sad now because I only have Ali left from Mann and I'm not terribly excited for it. At least I've got Blackhat to look forward to early next year.