‘Red Dragon’ tense, gripping prequel Fine script, cast make latest Lecter film an improvement over ‘Hannibal’

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In theaters

RED DRAGON, directed by Brett Ratner, written by Ted Tally, based on the novel by Thomas Harris, 124 minutes, Rated R.

After a year that has seen its share of wealthy, upstanding men and women exposed as criminals and locked behind bars, along comes Brett Ratner’s “Red Dragon,” a film about a wealthy, upstanding individual exposed as a criminal and locked behind bars.

Who knew the movie would be so timely?

The film departs from reality in that its criminal happens to be pop culture’s best-loved people person, Hannibal the Cannibal – but, hey, I bet those who lost their jobs and retirements thanks to a handful of the fine folks at Enron and WorldCom would be hard pressed to see a difference.

“Red Dragon,” from a screenplay Ted Tally based on Thomas Harris’ 1981 best-selling novel, is a tense, often gripping prequel to “The Silence of the Lambs” and last year’s half-baked “Hannibal.”

As you’d expect, a feeling of deja vu hangs over the film, sometimes to the point of distraction – but not always.

Fueled by Tally’s engaging script, a fantastic cast and the liberating presence of a sympathetic new psycho named Francis Dolarhyde (Ralph Fiennes), Ratner ratchets up the suspense and delivers a film designed to do more than simply milk a popular franchise dry.

Indeed, with its top-notch production values and terrific score by Danny Elfman, “Red Dragon” spins a dark mood and, for the most part, sustains it.

Set 10 years before Clarice first appeared in her bad shoes, “Dragon” opens with a tuxedoed Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) seated at the center of a well-heeled crowd enjoying the Baltimore symphony, where an error-prone flutist is botching the proceedings and igniting Lecter’s ire.

Days later, after a swanky dinner party Lecter throws for the symphony’s board of directors – a phony group more interested in complimenting Lecter on that evening’s delicious mystery meat than in discussing the fact that the flutist has curiously gone missing – FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) comes to the doctor’s townhouse seeking advice on how to best capture a serial killer terrorizing the city.

What ensues is one of the film’s best sequences as Graham literally stumbles upon the truth – it’s Lecter who has been eating a hole through Baltimore. The violence that erupts between them occurs within the film’s first few minutes and is a mere backdrop for all that’s to come.

Several years later, Graham is a boat mechanic living in Marathon, Fla., with his wife and young son. Life on the island is swell, but back in Baltimore, a new terror nicknamed the Tooth Fairy is sinking his ruined soft palette deep into the city. Since Graham has an uncanny ability to think like a madman – not unlike Clarice Starling – he’s recruited by Special Agent Jack Crawford (Harvey Keitel) to help solve the case, which leads to a series of events modeled almost slavishly after key scenes in “Lambs”: Graham visits Lecter in his cell and asks for his assistance in catching the killer.

This is “Red Dragon” at its most disappointing and creatively bankrupt, and while Lecter and Graham do have a spark, they never enjoy the same emotional sizzle Lecter shared with Clarice because the tension between them isn’t sexual. Still, Ratner freely (and mistakenly) courts comparisons before getting on with the soul of his movie: The relationship between the Tooth Fairy, who’s real name is Dolarhyde, and Reba, a blind woman beautifully played by Emily Watson.

It’s here, as Ratner leans in to observe all the danger and complications inherent within their unexpected romance, that the film finds itself and breathes, becoming a powerhouse of a thriller that thrums with life and scores with a crowd-pleasing ending.

With Philip Seymour Hoffman perfect as the tabloid reporter Freddie Lounds, a chubby sleazebag just corrupt enough to be interesting, “Red Dragon” isn’t so much an improvement on “Manhunter,” Michael Mann’s relatively unknown 1986 adaptation of Harris’ book, as it is a complement to it.

Without the burden of having to live up to a famous and fiercely protected commodity, Mann was free to interpret Harris’ text and explore his own ideas, going so far as to change Harris’ ending (which infuriated the author) to suit his own needs. Ratner was never allowed such a luxury. Instead, he had the more difficult task of adhering to a proven formula and living up to audience expectation. It’s not every director who could work within such a limited set of boundaries and still deliver a film as compelling as “Red Dragon,” but that’s just what Ratner has done.

Grade: B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores, starting alphabetically with the most current releases.

Big Trouble ? D

Enough ? C-

Jason X ? Bomb

Brotherhood of the Wolf ? B

The Scorpion King ? B

Enigma ? C

Monsoon Wedding ? A-

Murder by Numbers ? C

Death to Smoochy ? B+

40 Days and 40 Nights ? C-

Monsters, Inc. ? A-

Panic Room ?B

Changing Lanes ?B

Count of Monte Cristo ?B+

Frailty ? C-

Blade II: B+

High Crimes ? C

Queen of the Damned ? C-

Iris ? B

Joe Somebody ? D

The Rookie ? A-

The Sweetest Thing ? D+

We Were Soldiers ? B+

Birthday Girl ? B

The Business of Strangers ? B

Clockstoppers –

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist: B-

The Time Machine ? D-

Amelie ? A

John Q. ? C-

Pinero ?B

Charlotte Gray ? B+

Hart’s War ? B

The Royal Tenenbaums ? B+

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius ? B+

Shallow Hal ? C

A Beautiful Mind ?B

Gosford Park ? B+

I Am Sam ? C

The Majestic ? D-

Max Keeble’s Big Move ? B

Orange County ? C-

The Shipping News ? C

Rollerball ? F

Black Hawk Down ? B

Kate & Leopold ? C+

Monster’s Ball?A

The Mothman Prophecies ? C

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ? B?

Sidewalks of New York ? B-

Lantana ? A

Vanilla Sky ? B+

Corky Romano ? D-

From Hell ? C

The Others ?B+

Snow Dogs ?B-

Ocean’s Eleven ?B

Waking Life ? A

Ali ? B+

Not Another Teen Movie ? C-

Behind Enemy Lines ? C-

No Man’s Land ? A

Black Knight ? F

The Deep End ? A

Domestic Disturbance ? C

The Man Who Wasn’t There ?B+

Mulholland Drive ? A

Spy Game ? C+

Bandits ? D

13 Ghosts ? F

Donnie Darko ? B

K-Pax ?B-

Life as a House ? C

Original Sin ? F

Our Lady of the Assassins ? B+

Riding in Cars with Boys ? B-

Training Day ? B-

Heist ? B+

Joy Ride ? B+

Zoolander ? C-

A.I. ? B-

The Last Castle ? C-

Sexy Beast ? B+