Z/Web

Well, today was my birthday, so I had to endure a birthday dinner with friends and family. Just kidding — I had a great time and ate too much. I chose Hungry Hunter restaurant, which has my favorite meal, steak and fries with whiskey peppercorn sauce. The sauce wasn’t peppery enough and the fries were wimpy thin fries, not thick steak fries, but it was still delcious. The family was in good humor, teasing me about reaching the halfway point in my life (I’m 35), but I told them the average lifespan is always increasing and “halfway” is in the forties now and will be 50 by the time I’m forty-nine. It’s all irrelevant to me: I still have trouble thinking of myself as an adult, let alone a middle-aged man. Hopefully the “you’re only as old as you feel” phrase is true, for I feel like my life has scarcely started.

Excellent film and good (accurate) adaptation of the book, including some important scenes left out of the original version of this film, Silence of the Lambs. That doesn’t make it bad, just not a miracle of filmmaking. I liked the way the film began with Hannibal’s capture by Will Graham (something the book only hints at via flashback) as does well to set the tone of the film. Unfortunately the horrible murders by the “Tooth Fairy” aren’t as horrific as they should be (like in Manhunter), though there are some chilling moments. The relationship between Dollarhyde (the killer) and Reba is handled extremely well and is one of my favorite parts of the film and the book. For me, that aspect is key to the novel: one gets the feeling how narrow the difference is between sanity and insanity. Under just slightly different circumstance, the two could have made a great couple. Ralph Fiennes does a good job as Dollarhyde, but he’s still too good looking (even with the hairlip makeup) to be convincing as a guy who’s embarrassed to show his face. I like Manhunter’s Tom Noonan better. Overall, however, this is a satisfying film for those who love the characters. I can’t say it’s better than Manhunter — they’re both different and there are things I like better about each. Both are excellent films worth seeing.